Planet Pulse Pacific

Shaun Lee - Auckland's Hauraki Gulf

Ben and Emma Season 4 Episode 9

Shaun Lee is an Auckland-based designer, illustrator and photographer. Shaun started his career as a web designer and then co-founded Auckland’s foremost business-to-business design studio. Shaun now only works on environmental initiatives and has dedicated his life to improving the state of the planet. A true eco-warrior in every sense.

His environmental advocacy work is extensive and varied, including serving as Co-Founder and Trustee of Revive Our Gulf, New Zealand’s only large-scale, active marine restoration initiative. In this conversation, Shaun shines a light on the damage done to the Hauraki Gulf, and the causes, and also discusses the ambitious plans of Revive our Gulf for large-scale restoration of the area.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Shaun’s background and passion for saving the planet!
  • Shaun’s creative advocacy work including MOST New Zealand and NZ Tracker
  • The importance of visual mediums in communicating climate concerns
  • The water quality degradation and ecosystem decline of the Hauraki Gulf
    • The current state of the water quality
    • What’s contributing to the Gulf’s decline
    • Green-lipped mussels fishery collapse
    • Impacts of trawling and dredging on marine life
    • Bottom trawling and sediment plumes
    • The potential for dead zones within the Gulf
    • Scientific trawling conducted by fisheries in New Zealand
  • Revive our Gulf – restoring the mussel reefs that once dominated the Hauraki Gulf
  • The benefits and logistics of ‘re-musseling’
  • How listeners can get involved in active restoration


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