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oyaging in the Roaring Forties
and Screaming Fifties demands a
heightened awareness. Weather maps,
the sky and barometer are consulted
more often because, when the weather
does come away, the change is sudden
and often violent.
Mollymawks and albatross wheel overhead as the staysail
ketch Evohe shoulders her way through the unending
westerly swell. Squadrons of Cape pigeons and fulmars
squabble around the stern.
he team of DOC sea lion researchers soon settle down
for the 460km (248nm) slog to Enderby Island in the
northernmost Auckland Islands. Most of the scientists
have spent a hectic few months inalising plans for research
projects, working out timetables, assembling all the
provisions, personal gear and supplies needed for several
weeks stay in a ruthlessly hostile environment. Almost
everything that goes to the sub-Antarctic islands spends
time at DOC’s quarantine store in Invercargill before being
stowed in Evohe’s capacious interior.
Tightly-lidded 20-litre buckets and plastic cases full of
scientiic gear, bottles of liquid nitrogen for preserving
biological samples, and jerry cans full of generator fuel
come aboard to be stowed and lashed. Evohe is fresh
from the slipway, her bottom scrubbed to get rid of any
alien organisms that could corrupt the islands’ pristine
underwater ecology.
he stout steel yacht has plied this route for about 20
years, in between traversing the North West Passage and
other projects, and she feels good; like she’s looking forward
to another Southern Ocean passage and job well done.
Now it just remains to reach Enderby, discharge all the
gear and lug it through the amorous sea lions mating on the
Sandy Bay beach and up to the DOC hut.
he trip down is quick and uneventful. It’s always good to
have such knowledgeable and committed people on board.
Like everyone who regularly works in the sub-Antarctic
islands, they are enthusiasts – people who love the wildlife
and wild ruggedness of New Zealand’s southernmost wind-
swept islands.
I’d assumed that factory squid trawlers which scrape
whole schools from the Auckland Islands’ sea loor were to
blame for declining New Zealand sea lion numbers (also
called Hookers sea lion, whakahao or rapoka). But no, oneDOC scientist said. he real culprit could be hookworms
buried in the sand on the species’ breeding beaches.
he worms burrow through the female sea lions’ thick
pelts and blubber to penetrate their lactation glands. When
the pups take their irst suck of milk, they get a dose of
active worms which bore their way out of their intestines,
leaving space for infection to enter.
“he pups get riddled with infection pretty quickly and
die a slow, painful death,” she explained. “When we do
autopsies on them – they’re full of pus.” Researchers have
wormed test groups of pups with farm animal treatments
and the sample groups have a much improved chance of
living to adulthood.V
ABOVE New Zealand’s ofshore islands extend from
the semi-tropical Kermadec Islands in the north to
Campbell Island in the deep south.
LEFT Evohe at anchor at Enderby Island, the
northermost of the Auckland Islands group.