New Zealand’s 4 million km2 marine environment is diverse, with a range of coastal habitats and offshore seabed environments. We also have many marine species found only in New Zealand. Marine protected areas conserve or manage some of these unique habitats and species, while a range of other tools also provide marine protection. We report on the area covered by these tools as an indirect measure to understand the state of the marine environment.
We classified Protection in the marine environment as supporting information.
The subantarctic and Kermadec regions have the largest proportion of protected areas.
We have 44 marine reserves. They cover 17,430km2 or about 10 percent of the 14 biogeographic regions (defined by an area's natural characteristics, including flora, fauna, and environmental conditions) that make up our territorial sea (out to the 12 nautical mile limit).
The proportion of each biogeographic region that is protected varies greatly.
Benthic protection areas (protected seabed areas) and seamount (underwater mountain area) closures cover almost one third (1,240,738km2) of our exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
We have six designated marine mammal sanctuaries, the largest (off the North Island’s west coast) aiming to protect the Māui’s dolphin.
Note: The values for some categories are too small to display.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a conservation tool, restricting human activities to varying degrees. We report on the extent and location of MPAs in relation to biogeographic regions (defined by an area's natural characteristics, including flora, fauna, and environmental conditions) (Department of Conservation, 2014).
Marine reserves lie within our territorial sea (12 nautical mile limit) and offer the highest level of marine protection in New Zealand waters. No marine habitat or life form, such as seaweed or fish, may be removed from these places.
Benthic protection areas (protected seabed areas) and seamount (underwater mountain area) closures were designated in the exclusive economic zone, which extends to the 200 nautical mile limit.
Department of Conservation (2015). Marine protected areas: Tier 1 statistic 2015. Retrieved from www.doc.govt.nz.
See Marine protected areas (archived October 2016).