There are 34 no-take marine reserves in New Zealand waters as of August 2011.
We profile four established and successful marine reserves. Each link contains an archive of the documents that supported the establishment of each reserve. Use these to guide your work in designing and proposing new reserves. This is a small sample of all the hard work behind our existing network.
Whangarei Harbor Marine Reserve
Te Tapuwai o Te Rongokako Marine Reserve
Cape Rodney to Okakiri Point Marine Reserve
Collectively, our marine reserves protect 0.3% of our total marine environment or just 7% of New Zealand’s coastal waters, known as our territorial sea. Our two largest marine reserves are located on offshore islands (Auckland and Kermadec Islands) and these two reserves account for 97% of our protected sea-area. In contrast, our coastal mainland marine reserves are very small. Our offshore deepwater marine environment is totally unprotected with no marine reserves at all.
The Department of Conservation has a web page devoted to brief descriptions of all New Zealand marine reserves.
You will also find the following information on the DoC A-Z web page
- Report cards for Cape Rodney-Okakari Point (Goat Island) and Tāwharanui marine reserves. The health of marine reserves is summarised in these report cards.
- Marine reserve monitoring reports produced by DoC and other agencies.
Go to the Forest and Bird Society's FAQ web page on marine Reserves
Go to a Wikipedia list of marine reserves and their sizes
Our Case Studies
Te Tapuwai o Te Rongokako Marine Reserve
Cape Rodney to Okakiri Point Marine Reserve Reserve