Skip to main content
Reviving a depleted seabed: the scientists and others behind New Zealand efforts to bring back scallops Coastal, Marine & Blue EconomyIn The NewsUncategorisedVenture

Reviving a depleted seabed: the scientists and others behind New Zealand efforts to bring back scallops

For years, the scallop shell has been a symbol of Kiwi summers – its meat golden-seared on a barbecue, skewered at a bach, or piled high at Whitianga’s famous Scallop Festival. But beneath the nostalgia lies something far less celebratory: New Zealand’s wild scallop populations have collapsed, their once-abundant beds dredged, degraded and, in many cases, destroyed.  Much of what we believed about scallops, from spawning behaviour to habitat preferences, is incomplete, borrowed from work overseas, or only partially tested in New Zealand conditions.  “We’ve taken a species we barely understood,” says Dr Jenny Hillman - a marine scientist at University of Auckland, “dredged it…
Alison Smith
January 9, 2026
A win for the planet? Or just another cop-out? Takeaways from COP30’s final week. Credits: Ueslei Marcelino/COP30 ClimateGovernmentIn The NewsOur Thinking

A win for the planet? Or just another cop-out? Takeaways from COP30’s final week.

As the final hours close on COP30 in Belem, Brazil, tensions and temperatures (literally) have been rising. The second week of discussions in ‘the gateway to the Amazon’ saw parties stuck in a deadlock over fossil fuels, a fire spread across the blue zone, an Indigenous blockade, and arguments over the future of deforestation. This COP has been filled with symbolism. The conference ended in the early hours of Saturday morning with a contentious final deal that, for many, fell short of expectations. Participants have expressed frustration at COP President André Corrêa do Lago and how the meetings have been…
EnviroStrat
November 24, 2025
COP30 Week One Update with Natasha Jacobs Amazon Rainforest photo by Vlad Hilitanu on Unsplash ClimateCoastal, Marine & Blue EconomyIn The NewsOur Thinking

COP30 Week One Update with Natasha Jacobs

Natasha Jacobs gives us the Week One COP update  It’s been a big week for Belem, host city for COP30. Delegations from 194 countries, activists, and over 4000 members of the media have descended on the ‘capital of the Amazon’ to discuss global action on climate change. The US made a historic no-show for the first time in COP history. New Zealand has a total of 79 registered attendees, Australia 494 and the UK 210.   The big-ticket item, and a central point of discussion this week has been the Baku to Belem roadmap, a paper that aims to outline how climate finance could be scaled up…
EnviroStrat
November 17, 2025
A New Tool for Nature: NZ Government to Launch Voluntary Nature Credits Market Principles ClimateIn The NewsLand & Water ManagementOur Thinking

A New Tool for Nature: NZ Government to Launch Voluntary Nature Credits Market Principles

The New Zealand Government is expected to release a set of high-level principles for a voluntary biodiversity credit market during National Fieldays. Associate Environment Minister Hon Andrew Hoggard told Parliament last month that this work would be tested via pilot projects, and he discussed the potential for farmers’ creating benefits for biodiversity and for their businesses. “I see as a particularly beneficial project that will help out our farmers quite considerably and other landowners who have native bush on their farms or land and, basically, give them a carrot, as opposed to the stick approach, of "Here is an incentive…
EnviroStrat
June 18, 2025
Supporting youth impact in marine conservation and restoration work ClimateCoastal, Marine & Blue EconomyIn The NewsLand & Water Management

Supporting youth impact in marine conservation and restoration work

At Moana Auckland Sustainability Expo in New Zealand, EnviroStrat Sustainability Director Cerasela Stancu presented on the opportunity for new finance tools to capture value from conservation and restoration work. EnviroStrat has created impact ventures focused on the blue economy, including growing native New Zealand seaweed to create a sustainable supply chain, restoring areas of reef ecosystem and exploring how scallops can be grown in an aquaculture setting. In 2022, activities that use ocean resources contributed more than $10 billion to the New Zealand economy (3.9% of GDP). However, if the sector moved to more sustainable practices, that figure could increase to…
EnviroStrat
May 22, 2025
EnviroStrat: From consulting to startup accelerator Coastal, Marine & Blue EconomyImpact venturesIn The News

EnviroStrat: From consulting to startup accelerator

CEO Dr Nigel Bradly talks business model shifts, environmental impact, and the benefit of hindsight to New Zealand's National Business Review Journalist: Kate McVicar. About five years ago, EnviroStrat wanted to create environmental change rather than wait for it to happen, and started to develop its own startup ventures. In 2021, Envirostrat launched its first venture, Greenwave, followed by Kinanomics, Save Our Scallops, and ORA Reefs. The ventures are owned under the Regenerative Ocean Trust, which also receives philanthropic donations to help fund the projects. However, the intention is to grow the startups to a scale where they can be…
EnviroStrat
March 4, 2025
Urchinomics Aotearoa established! Great news for the health of Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal ecosystems and communities Coastal, Marine & Blue EconomyImpact venturesIn The NewsOur Thinking

Urchinomics Aotearoa established! Great news for the health of Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal ecosystems and communities

The news that we’re partnering with Urchinomics to form Urchinomics Aotearoa is a significant milestone for impact investment project development leader EnviroStrat, and exemplifies what’s possible when you bring together global and local expertise and capital. We’ve successfully collaborated with Urchinomics, the leading global urchin (kina) ranching and kelp restoration company over the past 18 months Kinanomics pilot. Following the success of the pilot, Urchinomics Aotearoa will scale its operations to tackle the pressing ecological and climate challenges posed by overpopulated kina barrens that have decimated kelp forest ecosystems throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand operations are expected to kickstart…
EnviroStrat
May 21, 2024
Rural delivery In The News

Rural delivery

EnviroStrat's Senior Project Manager, Rebecca Barclay was interviewed for episode 6 of Rural Delivery about how the GreenWave Aotearoa project is exploring the viability of a domestic seaweed farming industry. Rural Delivery Episode 6 | April 2023
EnviroStrat
July 21, 2023
Kinanomics leading the way for a new delicacy to export Kina roe Coastal, Marine & Blue EconomyImpact venturesIn The News

Kinanomics leading the way for a new delicacy to export

EnviroStrat's Senior Environmental Scientist, Johnny Wright was interviewed by Radio NZ about the launch of our Kinanomics project. "Kinanomics" leading the way for a new delicacy to export | July 2023 EnviroStrat’s Kinanomics project is an innovative approach that leverages the economic, environmental, and cultural value of kina (sea urchins) to address ecosystem imbalances and support sustainable marine resource management. By focusing on the restoration of kelp forests through the targeted removal of overabundant kina, the project seeks to revitalise degraded marine ecosystems while creating commercial opportunities for high-value kina products. Kinanomics integrates traditional knowledge, community engagement, and cutting-edge science…
EnviroStrat
July 21, 2023