In October 2023 the Minister of Conservation announced six new marine reserves will be established along the southeast coast of the South Island from Timaru to Waipapa Point in Southland.
DOC and Fisheries NZ thank all those who participated in this consultation process and provided submissions on the proposals.
Public consultation was started on 17 February 2020 and withdrawn on 9 April 2020 due to New Zealand’s COVID-19 Alert Level 4 restrictions, which limited people’s ability to participate meaningfully. Consultation was recommenced on 3 June 2020 for two months until 3 August 2020.
Submissions made before the consultation was withdrawn are included with those received when consultation recommenced. This is unless the submitter asked for it to be withdrawn. All submissions have now been released for transparency.
We’ve also redacted some information for privacy, such as names and emails. This was in line with the Privacy and Official Information Acts.
The proposed network is unchanged from that initially consulted on in February.
DOC and Fisheries NZ received 4,056 submissions on the proposed network of marine protected areas. All submissions can be downloaded below.
Most submissions are included in bundles of 20 searchable PDF files and named according to how they were received. These bundles are named from A to T, and each of their submissions are listed on our index sheet.
Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association:
Our online survey, A - D bundles
Forest & Bird's website, E - L bundles
A fishing club, M - Q bundles
Email or post to DOC or Fisheries NZ, R - T bundles
Find which file and page your submission is on by using our index sheet. This is an excel sheet listing submissions by source with other information.
To find your submission, take the following steps to first find out which file and page your submission is on:
Once you have your bundle's letter and page number, open the folder with your file in it from the list above. Open or download the appropriate PDF and use your search function to find your submission.
Submissions have been summarised in a report by public research and engagement company, PublicVoice. DOC and Fisheries NZ are now working on a detailed analysis of all submissions.
Once complete, DOC and Fisheries NZ will brief the Minister of Conservation and Minister of Ocean and Fisheries on the results of the consultation with the public and with our Treaty partner, Ngāi Tahu.
DOC and Fisheries NZ led this consultation together, but both Ministers have distinct decision-making roles on the results:
Agency advice and other relevant information will inform each Minister’s decision. This includes the submissions.
Submitters will be advised of the outcome once Ministerial decisions are finalised.
The proposed network aims to protect a range of unique coastal and estuarine habitats and feeding areas for marine mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates, which are currently under pressure from the effects of human activities including climate change.
The proposed network is made up of six marine reserves, five Type 2 marine protected areas (MPAs), and one kelp protection area, covering a total of 1267 km2 from Timaru in South Canterbury to Waipapa Point in Southland.
The six proposed marine reserves are being consulted on under the Marine Reserves Act, while the five proposed type 2 MPAs and the proposed kelp protection area are being consulted on under the Fisheries Act.
Consultation document (PDF, 9,547K)
Kelp protection area:
Type 2 Marine Protected Areas:
Marine reserves:
Listen to an interview about the consultation – 8 June 2020
In May 2019, the Ministers for Conservation and Fisheries announced their intention to progress the network of marine reserves and marine protected areas. The network is based on Network 1 – one of two options put forward by the South-East Marine Protection Forum/ Roopu Manaaki ki te Toka in 2018 for marine protection for the region.