Virtual Stall 2022

Virtual Stall

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Natural seaweed based wetsuit Lube | Octacle | WellingtonNatural Seaweed Based Wetsuit Lube | Octacle |...Octaclewww.octacle.co.nz

Seaweed ID shirts

Limited series

available exclusively at community snorkel events!

$40

by artist Skye stirling

Please email gaby@loverimurimu.org to pre-order.

The WANDERING ANEMONE (Hūmenga or Phlyctenactis tuberculosa) is New Zealand largest anemone and can be found in the shallow intertidal all around the country. As many other anemones, the Wandering anemone can move and drift in the water column, but you can often also spot it attached to some seaweed. The funny looking bubbles can be in a variety of colours ranging from blue/grey to yellowish, orange, brown, mauve, dark purple/blue.

The STALKED KELP (Rimu kakau or Ecklonia radiata) is one of Wellington's dominant seaweed forest former. It grows in dense patches up to one meter high and provides shelter and food for many small fish and their holdfasts (the equivalent of roots of trees) give small critters a place to hide.

Image: mollusca.co.nz The shells of the Cook's turban snail (Cookia sulcata), are a popular find for every beach comber. These large snails can grow up to 90mm in length and can be identified by their rough shell with deep grooves.

Cushion starfish are probably the most common starfish on our shores. They usually have 5 arms but sometimes also 4 or 6. They colouration varies widely and range from orange, blue, green, brown to purple. As all starfish, they move using an hydraulic system (meaning by pumping water through a tube system) and if you look closely you can see the little tube feet when they are on the run. The light spot you can see is called the madreporite and is an opening that filters the water into the hydraulic system and acts like a pressure-equalizing valve. Another fun fact is that they are feeding on their pray by inverting their entire stomach through their mouth!

The SEA LETTUCE (Rimu kaikai or Ulva sp.) is a very leafy seaweed species that is often washed ashore on beaches and grows in the shallow intertidal and mudflats. It often occurs in area with hight nutrient levels in the water and can therefore be used as an 'bioindicator' species for nutrient pollution in the water.

Image: FlickrBARNACLES are crustaceans meaning they are crab-like animas. They don't seem to look much like a crab but their larvae have an uncanny resemblance of a shrimp. After swimming around for a while they attach themselves upside down to a rock and proceed growing a shell around themselves! What were legs once, are now feeler-like arms to rake small particles to their month. They can be found attached to rocks in the intertidal but also on man made structures such as boats and marinas. They often cluster together to protect each other from harsh waves, heat and dry air.

Image: http://www.marinelife.ac.nz/ Aramoana or Zigzag weed (Cystophora torulosa) can be found in rockpools and at low tide. Its has a zig-sag middle step and round-ish, club-like blades, and small gas filled bladders that help the seaweed floating upright. It has a very small holdfast (basal attachment structure).

The jewel of the rockpools is the NEPTUNES NECKLACE (Rimu tongamimi or Hormosira banksii). It's 'beads' are filled with mucus which helps the seaweed from drying out when it becomes exposed to sun, heat and air during low tide.

Flapjack (Tírepa huhua, Carpophyllum maschalocarpum) is a brown seaweed with a strong, flat, zig-zag-gy, middle stipe and alternating smallish blades and small gas bubbles. Flapjack is as kiwi as the kiwi itself as it can be only found here in New Zealand.

Asparagopsis armata might be a seaweed you have heard of already as it has been in the media spotlight here in New Zealand and globally. This red seaweed is currently researched a lot as a potential game changer for the agricultural sector as it has the ability to reduce the methane emission in cows. You can easily identify it by its feather-y, and fluffy appearance and its beautiful pale rose colour.

The ASIAN KELP (Wakame or Undaria pinnatifida) is native in, yes you guessed it, Asia. First found in New Zealand waters around the 1980s, its fast growth cycle and tolerance ability to pollution, heat, and turbidity enabled it to spread around the country. Even though it might be mistaken with the Stalked kelp, the Asian kelp has very thin and slimy blades that are growing from a middle rib. When they have reached maturity, they form a lamella like structure on the base of their stipe which is carrying the spores. Despite its bad image as a super-invader, it is popular in international and national cuisines and has shown to have many health benefits for humans, plants and animals.

Article by Gretta Carney (RNZ, 2017) Seaweeds are an important part of the Māori diet, containing up to twenty times the minerals of the plants we can grow or gather on land. Seaweeds are particularly beneficial to our thyroid gland, which needs a good supply of iodine to be healthy. Karengo is a red sea lettuce traditionally harvested on the East coast of the North Island in August and September. It is common to see clumps of karengo hanging on the fence to dry in these parts. If you gather your own karengo be sure to clean off the sand and salt with lots of fresh water before drying. As with all Hua Parakore kai, ensure that your harvesting grounds are free from contamination.How to use karengo- To prepare fresh karengo, boil or steam in a little water with a good dollop of butter for 20-30 minutes.- To prepare dried, pour over boiling water and boil for about an hour with a good dollop of butter.- Steam karengo in the hangi or umu.- Use a slow cooker to steam melt in the mouth karengo overnight. Just cover with water and cook on low.- Make karengo salt by gently frying dried karengo in a little olive oil.- Make karengo seasoning by mixing crushed fried karengo with equal parts flaky sea salt. Store in an airtight container.- Crumble a little toasted karengo into a cup of hot water or vegetable stock for a quick and warming cup of soup MORE ABOUT KARENGO

SEA URCHINS (Kina or Evechinus chloroticus) is an echinoderm which is Greek and means it has a spiky skin (echino= hedgehog, derm=skin). Their favourite food is delicious seaweed and if not enough top predatory fish like snappers are around that feed on them, they can take over a seaweed forest in no time munchin' on the last little kelp stalk...Therefore it is important that we try to not catch too many big fish that hold the kina population at bay and help keeping the ecosystem in balance.