Key findings

New Zealand has 44 marine reserves covering 17 700 km². However, only 3.5% of this area is situated around the mainland coasts, and so many of New Zealand’s coastal marine biogeographic regions are significantly under-represented. New Zealand also has eight marine mammal sanctuaries, five of which primarily exist to help protect Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori). No new protected areas were established in 2015/16, but the completion of marine protected area (MPA) planning processes for all regions of New Zealand remains a high priority.

• Approximately 9.8% or 17 700 km² of New Zealand’s marine area inside the 12 nautical mile territorial limit is protected within 44 marine reserves (Fig. 1). However, almost all of this area (96.5% or 17 083 km²) lies within the ecologically important offshore island marine areas of the Kermadec and Subantarctic groups, with only 3.5% (617 km²) existing around the New Zealand mainland coasts. Thus, most of New Zealand’s 14 coastal marine biogeographic regions remain significantly under-represented in marine protected areas (Table 1).

• New Zealand has eight marine mammal sanctuaries (Table 2 & Fig. 1). Five of these around mainland New Zealand have primarily been established to help protect Hector’s dolphin (including the Maui dolphin subspecies C. h. maui), while the Auckland Island sanctuary mainly aims to protect southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) and New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri). In addition, two sanctuaries occur near Kaikōura: one to protect whales and one to protect a New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) breeding colony.

• No new marine reserves or marine mammal sanctuary areas were established in the 2015/16 year (Table 3 & Fig. 1).
  

• Completion of the MPA planning processes for all regions of New Zealand remains a high priority, and the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Ministry for Primary Industries are leading the implementation of the MPA Policy to enable this. As part of this, the South-East Marine Protection Forum is working to produce MPA recommendations in 2017 for an area of the southeast South Island. DOC is also involved in a review of the marine protected areas legislation that is being led by the Ministry for the Environment.

Table 1. Percentage of each of New Zealand’s coastal marine biogeographic regions that is protected within marine reserves.

Biogeographic region	Area of biogeographic region (km2)1	Total area (legal area) of marine reserves (km2)2	Percentage of biogeographic region in marine reserves
Bioregional MPA process completed
Subantarctic Islands	11,936	9331.63	78.18
Kermadec Islands	7,179	7480.00	100
West Coast South Island	13,158	175.49	1.3
Regional MPA process not yet completed3
East Coast South Island	11,288	111.41	1.01
Fiordland	10,241	102.98	1.01
Northeastern	38,073	89.25	0.23
South Cook Strait	12,241	38.93	0.32
West Coast North Island	14589	32.48	0.22
North Cook Strait	13,671	30.22	0.22
East Coast North Island	11,637	28.98	0.25
Southern South Island	20,986	10.75	0.05
Chatham Islands	12,318	0	0.00
Three Kings	2,226	0	0.00
Snares Islands	2,154	0	0.00
New Zealand EEZ4	3,964,500	0	0.00

Table 2. Marine mammal sanctuaries in New Zealand as at 30 June 2016.

Marine mammal sanctuary	Date gazetted	Area (km2)5
Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary	1988	4076.96
Auckland Islands Marine Mammal Sanctuary	1993	5057.10
Te Waewae Bay Marine Mammal Sanctuary	2008	348.84
Catlins Coast Marine Mammal Sanctuary	2008	653.88
Clifford and Cloudy Bay Marine Mammal Sanctuary	2008	1386.00
West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary	2008	11,935.42
Te Rohe o Te Whānau Puha Whale Sanctuary	2014	4690.56
Ōhau New Zealand Fur Seal Sanctuary	2014	0.04
Total area		28,137.86

Table 3. Summary of marine areas managed by DOC.

		At 30 June 2016	Change since last annual report
Marine reserves	Total area	17,700 km2	Nil
	Percentage of NZ Territorial Sea	9.80%	Nil
	Percentage of NZ marine area	0.40%	Nil
Marine mammal sanctuaries	Total area	28,138 km2	Nil
	Percentage of NZ Territorial Sea	14.20%	Nil
	Percentage of NZ marine area	0.70%	Nil
Combined coverage of marine reserves and marine mammal sanctuaries6	Total area	40,637km2	Nil
	Percentage of NZ Territorial Sea	21.10%	Nil
	Percentage of NZ marine area	1.00%	Nil

Figure 1. Marine reserves and marine mammal sanctuaries managed by DOC, as at 30 June 2016.

Definitions and methodology

This measure reports on the area (and percentage area) of New Zealand’s marine environment that is within marine reserves and marine mammal sanctuaries, which are two of the main types of marine areas that are actively managed by DOC. It is assessed in the context of (a) coastal marine bioregions; (b) marine areas within the 12 nautical mile territorial limit; and (c) marine areas within the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) limit.

This measure does not include: (a) marine areas managed by DOC under other land status types that are not specific to the marine environment (e.g. nature reserves, wildlife reserves and other public conservation land); or (b) marine protected areas (MPAs) that are not managed by DOC (e.g. those established under the Fisheries Act).

Data quality

All data (marine reserve or sanctuary name, date and legal area) were taken directly from the relevant Order in Council or Act, unless otherwise stated. Please note that the figures stated may differ from other reported figures, such as those calculated using geographic information systems (GIS).

This measures is classified as a national indicator. These data were mostly drawn from GIS summaries, and legal statistics for New Zealand’s marine protected areas and other marine sites. Note that DOC is in the process of updating its statistics for the marine environment, using more up-to-date GIS calculations.

Relevance

This measure relates to indicator 1.6.1 - Ecosystem representation and protection status.

Accuracy

Areas are sourced from the Order in Council legal areas, where available, or calculated using GIS where otherwise unavailable. An updated table of all GIS areas will be available in the near future.

This measure complies with the data quality guidelines used in New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting framework.

Outcomes Monitoring Framework

The Department of Conservation’s (DOC’s) Outcomes Monitoring Framework provides a platform on which DOC and others can assess outcomes in a clear, structured and transparent way (Lee et al., 2005). It has been developed as a logical hierarchy that is based on broad, overarching Outcomes, beneath which are nested Outcome Objectives, Indicators, Measures and Data Elements to provide ever increasing levels of detail. The framework is scalable, as the indicators and measures remain compatible and consistent whether applied locally, regionally or nationally. The recently updated framework provides a roadmap for gathering information to meet the specific objectives of DOC and other agencies (McGlone and Dalley, 2015). The provision of a national framework with agreed outcomes, indicators and measures supports collaboration with land management and regulatory agencies, allowing for more integrated environmental policy and ‘State of the Environment’ reporting. DOC has partially implemented a national monitoring and reporting system, whereby priority indicators and measures are routinely used to report on progress against the objectives and outcomes. This factsheet reports on a measure for the 2015/16 year.

Glossary of terms

Marine protected area (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans or large lakes. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources.

An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.