Murihiku ki Te Tonga: A Ngāi Tahu-led Research and Monitoring Programme for Te Moana-tāpokopoko-a-Tāwhaki, the Ross Sea Sector

This paper introduces the Murihiku ki Te Tonga – Ross Sea Sector research and monitoring programme (MKTT) launched by the Māori tribe of southernmost New Zealand, Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku. As the first indigenous-led Antarctic & Southern Ocean research programme in the world, MKTT is developing scientific approaches that are critically informed by mātauranga Māori (Māori traditional knowledge), with a particular focus on use of environmental indicator species (tohu taiao), explicit consideration of seasonal and higher-order spatiotemporal variability, and of the connectivity of the Ross Sea region to the southern Pacific Ocean. The purpose of MKTT is to implement effective, targeted research & monitoring of the Ross Sea Sector between New Zealand and Antarctica, including the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area (RSrMPA), consistent with Ngāi Tahu principles and the articulated Specific Objectives of the RSrMPA. Following successful pilot expeditions to the Ross Sea in 2023 and 2024, MKTT is intended to serve as the basis for a network of national and international partners, the Ross Sea Alliance, to support ongoing effective, cooperative, and coordinated research & monitoring in the RSrMPA.