 The Kaipara is the largest estuarine harbour on the west coast of New Zealand and provides significant areas of suitable breeding grounds and habitats for juvenile fish.It has fewer problems with water quality than the Manukau, and is the single most significant wetland for west coast fisheries.In 2009, NIWA scientists discovered that 98 percent of snapper on the west coast of the North Island were originally juveniles from nurseries in the Kaipara.