Dr Norman Ragg Photo: RNZ
Scientist Dr Norman Ragg has spent the past 25 years working with abalone after a passion for paua brought him to New Zealand - but not before collecting both samples and experiences from South London to Colombia, Israel and the States.
Norman arrived in New Zealand exactly 25 years ago on Matariki. In today's Voices podcast he reflects on his work in shellfish physiology over the years and the importance of this taonga species from indigenous points of view.
Paua are considered living fossils and our marine taonga. Essentially a mollusc, but unlike a snail that has a single aperture in the shell, the line of holes on a paua's shell indicate that they've been around for hundreds of thousands of years.
Although abalone are resilient they're still susceptible to the effects of a rapidly changing climate like all other shellfish species.
Norman’s best known for developing a heart monitor for abalone to help monitor their stress receptors.
As water temperatures rise and directly affect fisheries and the ecology here in New Zealand, research that scientists like Norman do, gets even more important.
Even slight increases in carbon dioxide levels and temperature, both impacts of climate change and intensive agriculture, can affect how paua perform in their marine environment.
Listen to the full interview here:
Paua in the the aquaculture lab at Cawthron Institute, Nelson Photo: RNZ
Nornams ECG for the paua to monitor how they respond to stressors was developed in 2017 and is still very relevant.
The data it provides can give industry crucial insights on how the shellfish react to the increase in carbon dioxide levels and temperature and adapt their farming practices accordingly.
