title: Toxicological effects of MV Rena pollutants to New Zealand fish and lobster

authors: Webby, Ashley Jade

subjects: Oil spill

abstract: As part of the Rena Long Term Environmental Recovery Programme commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment in response to the grounding of the MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef (Otaiti), an experimental study of ecotoxicological effects was initiated to examine potential effects of major pollutants discharged from or associated with the Rena shipwreck. This project is one of the first examinations of ship wreck and oil spill pollution in New Zealand. Research will aid responses to future oil pollution events such as ship groundings and oil industry pollution.
The container ship MV Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef in the Bay of Plenty in October 2011 and discharged approximately 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (HFO). During the response HFO was treated with approximately 3 m³ of the oil dispersant Corexit 9500 at sea. Other pollutants associated with the Rena grounding included general cargo and other goods classified as environmentally hazardous, in particular, 560 tonnes of sodium hexafluoroaluminate or cryolite. Given the almost total absence of toxicity data relevant to HFOs, Corexit 9500 and other contaminant mixtures on New Zealand marine species, this project sought to assess the acute sublethal toxicity of these contaminants to a range of culturally, ecologically and commercially important species.
Sub-adult snapper (Pagrus auratus), spotted wrasse (Notolabrus celidotus) and red rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) were exposed to 1:1000 cryolite, 1:10000 HFO (HFO WAF), 1:400000 Corexit 9500 and 1:40 HFO/Corexit 9500 combination (HFO CEWAF: 1:10000 HFO, 1:400000 Corexit 9500) for up to 96 h followed by recovery for up to 10 d. These concentrations and exposure durations were viewed as being environmentally realistic. Fish were necropsied and examined for haematology and accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Exposure to toxicants caused no lethality but did indicate sub-lethal effects. Measurements of blood parameters indicated two main effects in fish of erythrocyte swelling and haemoconcentration. The overall pattern of response in fish appeared to be a greater degree of erythrocyte swelling in response to the HFO WAF treatment. HFO WAF and HFO CEWAF treatments caused changes in leukocyte differential counts indicating negative responses of immunosuppression in fish. Corexit 9500 and cryolite exposure caused negligible/minimal changes in haematology in all species. Haematological assessment of Jasus edwardsii indicated immune effects of HFO WAF, HFO CEWAF and cryolite exposure as evident by changes in differential haemocyte counts.
Bile PAHs in fish and red rock lobster reached levels several orders of magnitude higher than controls. Corexit 9500 increased PAH body burden when combined with oil, however in fish it also appeared to accelerate depuration of PAHs during post-exposure recovery. Depuration was not as evident in red rock lobster. Exposure to HFO appeared to stimulate an increase in melanomacrophages in the spleen of Pagrus auratus. Overall HFO exposure with or without the addition of Corexit 9500 caused apparent sublethal changes in haematology that mostly recovered by 10 d post-exposure.

text: Toxicological effects of MV Rena pollutants to New Zealand fish and lobster As part of the Rena Long Term Environmental Recovery Programme commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment in response to the grounding of the MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef (Otaiti), an experimental study of ecotoxicological effects was initiated to examine potential effects of major pollutants discharged from or associated with the Rena shipwreck. This project is one of the first examinations of ship wreck and oil spill pollution in New Zealand. Research will aid responses to future oil pollution events such as ship groundings and oil industry pollution.
The container ship MV Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef in the Bay of Plenty in October 2011 and discharged approximately 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (HFO). During the response HFO was treated with approximately 3 m³ of the oil dispersant Corexit 9500 at sea. Other pollutants associated with the Rena grounding included general cargo and other goods classified as environmentally hazardous, in particular, 560 tonnes of sodium hexafluoroaluminate or cryolite. Given the almost total absence of toxicity data relevant to HFOs, Corexit 9500 and other contaminant mixtures on New Zealand marine species, this project sought to assess the acute sublethal toxicity of these contaminants to a range of culturally, ecologically and commercially important species.
Sub-adult snapper (Pagrus auratus), spotted wrasse (Notolabrus celidotus) and red rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) were exposed to 1:1000 cryolite, 1:10000 HFO (HFO WAF), 1:400000 Corexit 9500 and 1:40 HFO/Corexit 9500 combination (HFO CEWAF: 1:10000 HFO, 1:400000 Corexit 9500) for up to 96 h followed by recovery for up to 10 d. These concentrations and exposure durations were viewed as being environmentally realistic. Fish were necropsied and examined for haematology and accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Exposure to toxicants caused no lethality but did indicate sub-lethal effects. Measurements of blood parameters indicated two main effects in fish of erythrocyte swelling and haemoconcentration. The overall pattern of response in fish appeared to be a greater degree of erythrocyte swelling in response to the HFO WAF treatment. HFO WAF and HFO CEWAF treatments caused changes in leukocyte differential counts indicating negative responses of immunosuppression in fish. Corexit 9500 and cryolite exposure caused negligible/minimal changes in haematology in all species. Haematological assessment of Jasus edwardsii indicated immune effects of HFO WAF, HFO CEWAF and cryolite exposure as evident by changes in differential haemocyte counts.
Bile PAHs in fish and red rock lobster reached levels several orders of magnitude higher than controls. Corexit 9500 increased PAH body burden when combined with oil, however in fish it also appeared to accelerate depuration of PAHs during post-exposure recovery. Depuration was not as evident in red rock lobster. Exposure to HFO appeared to stimulate an increase in melanomacrophages in the spleen of Pagrus auratus. Overall HFO exposure with or without the addition of Corexit 9500 caused apparent sublethal changes in haematology that mostly recovered by 10 d post-exposure.

year: 2014

title: Colour in the lines: The racial politics and possibilities of US skateboarding culture

authors: Williams, Neftalie

subjects: race

abstract: This thesis examines the informal sporting culture of skateboarding as a contested site of racial politics in the United States of America (US). Action sports scholars have long identified the ‘whiteness’ of this sport but rarely created space for the voices of people of colour (POC) within skateboarding. Underpinned by Critical Race Theory (CRT), this project centralizes the previously unheard voices of POC and reveals the unique challenges, strategies, and successes of POC within the elite skateboarding culture across particular historical contexts of skateboarding and within US society.

With the aim of understanding the complex and nuanced experiences of race within the skateboarding culture, sport, and industry, I conducted semi-structured interviews with forty male and seven female skateboarders of colour who have played critical roles in the culture as athletes, company owners, managers and media producers. Participants in the study are from a spectrum of racial backgrounds (African American, Asian American, Latinx/Hispanic) with their skateboarding participation ranging from the mid-1970s to the present day. Interviews were supplemented by a quantitative and qualitative examination of skateboarding magazines over this same time frame. 

Engaging the empirical material in dialogue with CRT, the key themes are organized into four chapters. The first explores the importance of family and community in forming the participants’ earliest understandings of race, racism, and politics. It then examines their initial participation in skateboarding, including the challenges of facing racial stereotypes from their communities and society in general. The next chapter outlines the path into professional skateboarding and the racial politics of gaining ‘visibility’ from those in power positions within the industry. It also examines the formation of elite skateboarding teams and the critical role of mentorship and interpersonal relationships with other POC as well as with non-POC allies. The third chapter focuses on the critical role of niche media, and particularly the politics of visibility within skateboarding magazines. The fourth and final chapter focuses on SOC as agents of change within the skateboarding industry as designers of skateboarding artifacts (i.e., shoes, boards) and company owners. In this chapter, we see the power dynamics shifting with POC skaters holding key roles, and with their creative entrepreneurship and unique strategies impacting the iconography of global skateboarding.

Ultimately, adopting a CRT approach, this project is supported by the politics of the researcher—an African American skateboarder, photographer, and critical scholar—who recognized the need to create a forum for the long-overlooked voices and experiences of racial minorities within skateboarding. In so doing, both narratives of the positioning of POC within skateboarding, as well as the politics of researching action sports communities, are challenged. Chronicling the endeavours of pioneering cultural intermediaries within the unique sporting culture of skateboarding, this thesis reveals how individual and collective actions have gained momentum over the past four decades and changed the racial possibilities for future generations.

text: Colour in the lines: The racial politics and possibilities of US skateboarding culture This thesis examines the informal sporting culture of skateboarding as a contested site of racial politics in the United States of America (US). Action sports scholars have long identified the ‘whiteness’ of this sport but rarely created space for the voices of people of colour (POC) within skateboarding. Underpinned by Critical Race Theory (CRT), this project centralizes the previously unheard voices of POC and reveals the unique challenges, strategies, and successes of POC within the elite skateboarding culture across particular historical contexts of skateboarding and within US society.

With the aim of understanding the complex and nuanced experiences of race within the skateboarding culture, sport, and industry, I conducted semi-structured interviews with forty male and seven female skateboarders of colour who have played critical roles in the culture as athletes, company owners, managers and media producers. Participants in the study are from a spectrum of racial backgrounds (African American, Asian American, Latinx/Hispanic) with their skateboarding participation ranging from the mid-1970s to the present day. Interviews were supplemented by a quantitative and qualitative examination of skateboarding magazines over this same time frame. 

Engaging the empirical material in dialogue with CRT, the key themes are organized into four chapters. The first explores the importance of family and community in forming the participants’ earliest understandings of race, racism, and politics. It then examines their initial participation in skateboarding, including the challenges of facing racial stereotypes from their communities and society in general. The next chapter outlines the path into professional skateboarding and the racial politics of gaining ‘visibility’ from those in power positions within the industry. It also examines the formation of elite skateboarding teams and the critical role of mentorship and interpersonal relationships with other POC as well as with non-POC allies. The third chapter focuses on the critical role of niche media, and particularly the politics of visibility within skateboarding magazines. The fourth and final chapter focuses on SOC as agents of change within the skateboarding industry as designers of skateboarding artifacts (i.e., shoes, boards) and company owners. In this chapter, we see the power dynamics shifting with POC skaters holding key roles, and with their creative entrepreneurship and unique strategies impacting the iconography of global skateboarding.

Ultimately, adopting a CRT approach, this project is supported by the politics of the researcher—an African American skateboarder, photographer, and critical scholar—who recognized the need to create a forum for the long-overlooked voices and experiences of racial minorities within skateboarding. In so doing, both narratives of the positioning of POC within skateboarding, as well as the politics of researching action sports communities, are challenged. Chronicling the endeavours of pioneering cultural intermediaries within the unique sporting culture of skateboarding, this thesis reveals how individual and collective actions have gained momentum over the past four decades and changed the racial possibilities for future generations.

year: 2020

title: Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022

authors: Daly, Nicola

subjects: Design

abstract: It is widely accepted that diversity in the literature read by and with children is of great importance, both for ensuring all children see themselves in the stories they share and in ensuring children are aware of lives and experiences outside their own. There is a growing body of international literature critically exploring the diversity present in English-language children’s literature, but to date very little analysing diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study examines 90 picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022 in terms of representations of ethnicity, skin colour, gender, disability, family structures, and language use. Findings indicate similar representations of gender, disability, and family structure to those found internationally but higher representation in relation to the ethnicity and skin colour of primary and secondary characters. New findings in relation to language use are presented. Future research concerning the details of representation in picturebooks and other formats of children’s literature in Aotearoa New Zealand is called for.

text: Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022 It is widely accepted that diversity in the literature read by and with children is of great importance, both for ensuring all children see themselves in the stories they share and in ensuring children are aware of lives and experiences outside their own. There is a growing body of international literature critically exploring the diversity present in English-language children’s literature, but to date very little analysing diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study examines 90 picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022 in terms of representations of ethnicity, skin colour, gender, disability, family structures, and language use. Findings indicate similar representations of gender, disability, and family structure to those found internationally but higher representation in relation to the ethnicity and skin colour of primary and secondary characters. New findings in relation to language use are presented. Future research concerning the details of representation in picturebooks and other formats of children’s literature in Aotearoa New Zealand is called for.

year: 2025