title: Boat electrofishing survey of the lower Waikato River and its tributaries

authors: Hicks, Brendan J.

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: We conducted the first electrofishing boat survey of the lower Waikato River and its tributaries between 8 and 15 February 2005. We caught 2,915 fish comprising seven introduced and six native fish species in 5.63 km of fished length from a total of 27 sites. Assuming that the bow-mounted anodes caught fish within a 1 m radius, the width fished was 4 m, and the total area fished was 22,520 m² or 2.252 ha.
Common smelt were the most numerous species caught (mean density 9.3 fish 100 m⁻²), followed by koi carp (mean density 1.7 fish 100 m⁻²) and goldfish (mean density 1.4 fish 100 m⁻²). Relatively few longfin eels, trout, bullies, and torrentfish were caught. In addition, three koi carp-goldfish hybrids were caught.

Koi carp comprised 285 kg, or 69% (range 0-97% per site) of the 410 kg of fish caught. The majority of koi carp were caught in Zones 2-4, where they occurred in all habitats except mid-channel sand bars. Koi carp biomasses up to 124 g m⁻² were associated with willow fringed and macrophyte beds. Biomass is more accurate reflection of the potential ecological impact of koi carp than their density. 

Adult trout were found only in the confluence habitats of Zone 1; all were brown trout except for one rainbow trout caught at LW007. Grey mullet comprised the greatest biomass of any native fish species, and shortfin eels, through widespread, did not comprise a high biomass. Only one torrentfish was found; this small juvenile (36 mm TL) was caught on a mid-channel bar at Mercer (site LW035).

Koi carp size increased with distance downstream, suggesting that the upper zones were more important for rearing than the lower river. The mean biomass for koi carp for all sites was 16 g m⁻², but previous results suggest that 21-73% of the total population estimate is caught on the first removal, depending on water visibility. As we fished over the area at each site only once, the estimates in this survey represent a minimum abundance, and true population sizes are likely to be 1.4-4.8 times greater. Of ecological concern for the Waikato region is the dominance of the fish biomass by introduced koi carp, which have a deleterious impace on aquatic habitats.

The fish data have been entered into NIWA’s New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database as card numbers 25,836 to 25,862.

text: Boat electrofishing survey of the lower Waikato River and its tributaries We conducted the first electrofishing boat survey of the lower Waikato River and its tributaries between 8 and 15 February 2005. We caught 2,915 fish comprising seven introduced and six native fish species in 5.63 km of fished length from a total of 27 sites. Assuming that the bow-mounted anodes caught fish within a 1 m radius, the width fished was 4 m, and the total area fished was 22,520 m² or 2.252 ha.
Common smelt were the most numerous species caught (mean density 9.3 fish 100 m⁻²), followed by koi carp (mean density 1.7 fish 100 m⁻²) and goldfish (mean density 1.4 fish 100 m⁻²). Relatively few longfin eels, trout, bullies, and torrentfish were caught. In addition, three koi carp-goldfish hybrids were caught.

Koi carp comprised 285 kg, or 69% (range 0-97% per site) of the 410 kg of fish caught. The majority of koi carp were caught in Zones 2-4, where they occurred in all habitats except mid-channel sand bars. Koi carp biomasses up to 124 g m⁻² were associated with willow fringed and macrophyte beds. Biomass is more accurate reflection of the potential ecological impact of koi carp than their density. 

Adult trout were found only in the confluence habitats of Zone 1; all were brown trout except for one rainbow trout caught at LW007. Grey mullet comprised the greatest biomass of any native fish species, and shortfin eels, through widespread, did not comprise a high biomass. Only one torrentfish was found; this small juvenile (36 mm TL) was caught on a mid-channel bar at Mercer (site LW035).

Koi carp size increased with distance downstream, suggesting that the upper zones were more important for rearing than the lower river. The mean biomass for koi carp for all sites was 16 g m⁻², but previous results suggest that 21-73% of the total population estimate is caught on the first removal, depending on water visibility. As we fished over the area at each site only once, the estimates in this survey represent a minimum abundance, and true population sizes are likely to be 1.4-4.8 times greater. Of ecological concern for the Waikato region is the dominance of the fish biomass by introduced koi carp, which have a deleterious impace on aquatic habitats.

The fish data have been entered into NIWA’s New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database as card numbers 25,836 to 25,862.

year: 2005

title: Metadata tools for institutional repositories

authors: Nichols, David M.

subjects: computer science

abstract: Current institutional repository software provides few tools to help metadata librarians understand and analyse their collections. In this paper we compare and contrast metadata analysis tools that were developed simultaneously, but independently, at two New Zealand institutions during a period of national investment in research repositories: the Metadata Analysis Tool (MAT) at The University of Waikato, and the Kiwi Research Information Service (KRIS) at the National Library of New Zealand. 
The tools have many similarities: they are convenient, online, on-demand services that harvest metadata using OAI-PMH, they were developed in response to feedback from repository administrators, and they both help pinpoint specific metadata errors as well as generating summary statistics. They also have significant differences: one is a dedicated tool while the other is part of a wider access tool; one gives a holistic view of the metadata while the other looks for specific problems; one seeks patterns in the data values while the other checks that those values conform to metadata standards.
Both tools work in a complementary manner to existing web-based administration tools. We have observed that discovery and correction of metadata errors can be quickly achieved by switching web browser views from the analysis tool to the repository interface, and back. We summarise the findings from both tools’ deployment into a checklist of requirements for metadata analysis tools.

text: Metadata tools for institutional repositories Current institutional repository software provides few tools to help metadata librarians understand and analyse their collections. In this paper we compare and contrast metadata analysis tools that were developed simultaneously, but independently, at two New Zealand institutions during a period of national investment in research repositories: the Metadata Analysis Tool (MAT) at The University of Waikato, and the Kiwi Research Information Service (KRIS) at the National Library of New Zealand. 
The tools have many similarities: they are convenient, online, on-demand services that harvest metadata using OAI-PMH, they were developed in response to feedback from repository administrators, and they both help pinpoint specific metadata errors as well as generating summary statistics. They also have significant differences: one is a dedicated tool while the other is part of a wider access tool; one gives a holistic view of the metadata while the other looks for specific problems; one seeks patterns in the data values while the other checks that those values conform to metadata standards.
Both tools work in a complementary manner to existing web-based administration tools. We have observed that discovery and correction of metadata errors can be quickly achieved by switching web browser views from the analysis tool to the repository interface, and back. We summarise the findings from both tools’ deployment into a checklist of requirements for metadata analysis tools.

year: 2008-08

title: Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably

authors: Hasan-Stein, Linda

abstract: Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. 

Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. 

Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. 

Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. 

This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. 

This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.

text: Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. 

Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. 

Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. 

Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. 

This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. 

This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.

year: 2026