Hauraki Gulf marine protections: the lowdown

Kina barrens and an abandoned craypot in what is now the Hauturu High Protection Area. Photo: Lorna Doogan

Many of the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust whānau know the Hauraki Gulf intimately. ‘Tīkapa Moana’ has been a mahinga kai (food source), playground, underwater classroom, and has provided a deep sense of spiritual and cultural identity for many of us born and raised alongside it. 

Over the years, many of our team have noted with deep concern the apparent degradation of the Gulf. Fish numbers have plummeted. Kina barrens have increased in both number and size. And in recent years, the ‘Safeswim’ app has provided a troubling visual reminder of how Auckland’s inadequate wastewater infrastructure has impacted the Gulf.

We have a close working relationship with Tīkapa Moana - it’s where we do much of our mahi. Through our Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) programme, the Gulf is ‘te kura moana’... the marine classroom we’ve used to introduce thousands of Kiwis to the wonder and fragility of our environment.

We know from experience marine protections in the Gulf can be enormously successful, and have advocated for further protections for a long time. We feel like it’s important to share the process that led to the bill, the impact it will have on Gulf users, and the conservation considerations that underpin it.

What new protections are there?

The newly protected areas. Image credit: Department of Conservation

The new Act establishes 19 new marine protected areas and extends two existing ones. This triples the total area under some form of protection from 6% to approximately 18% of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Park.

The new protection network uses three distinct tools:

1. Marine Reserve extensions: the existing Cape Rodney–Okakari Point (Goat Island) and Te Whanganui-o-Hei (Cathedral Cove) marine reserves are being expanded. These remain ‘No-Take’ zones, offering the highest level of protection by prohibiting all fishing, collecting, and disturbance. We champion the 44 marine reserves that are established in New Zealand. The extensions of these  two locations are invaluable scientific resources, offering an important baseline when analysing the success of marine protections across the country.  The ongoing changes within no-take areas are helping us to understand the impact of commercial and recreational fishing outside them. They’re also beautiful snorkelling locations that illustrate what a functioning marine ecosystem should look like, and have inspired many Kiwis to protect their local marine environment. Extending them will further increase their scientific utility, and further marine biodiversity preservation.  

2. 12 High Protection Areas (HPAs): these are designed to protect and restore marine habitats, by generally prohibiting commercial and recreational fishing and the large-scale removal of non-living materials. Crucially, HPAs are designed to be flexible, allowing for active habitat restoration (like removing kina from barrens). Together with the marine reserves, these areas now cover roughly 6% of the Gulf.

3. Customary practice: the HPAs explicitly acknowledge the customary practices of mana whenua, allowing for non-commercial customary fishing under written authorisation for a customary purpose.

4. Five Seafloor Protection Areas (SPAs): these areas focus on safeguarding sensitive seafloor habitats, such as sponge gardens and deep-sea corals, by banning fishing methods that significantly disturb the seabed, like bottom trawling and dredging. Activities with a low impact on the seafloor, such as line fishing and diving, are still permitted in SPAs.

   
   

This new legislation came into full effect on 25 October 2025.

The process: a decade of advocacy

The Act is not a sudden policy shift. It is the result of a decade of intensive planning and advocacy.

• Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari: The consultation and planning process began in 2012, with the Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari marine spatial plan eventually being published in 2017. This was a ground-breaking collaborative effort involving mana whenua, government, scientists, environmental groups, and stakeholders from the commercial and recreational sectors. It presented a comprehensive plan for restoring the Gulf's health.

• Government response: the current legislation is the government's formal response to the Sea Change recommendations, taking the proposals through the parliamentary process as the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill.

• Drafting and consultation: the Bill went through the standard legislative process, including extensive public consultation through the Select Committee stage. Hundreds of submissions were received from diverse community members, iwi, and industry bodies, highlighting both strong support for protection and significant debate over the extent and nature of the proposed rules.

• Controversy and compromise: a key source of debate is the allowance for limited commercial fishing in a small portion of two High Protection Areas (Motutapu / Rangitoto and Kawau) for six months of the year. This aspect is set for review after three years.

Impact for Gulf users: what am I allowed to do?

Snapper and kelp in the Marine Reserve at Te Hawere-a-maki/Goat Island. Photo: Lorna Doogan

For those who love and use the Gulf, the rules are changing. Understanding the new zones is paramount for compliance and for playing your part in the restoration.

• Recreational fishing: taking of kaimoana (seafood) is generally prohibited within all High Protection Areas (HPAs). It is essential for fishers to check the new maps and GPS coordinates to ensure they are compliant. However, recreational line fishing is permitted in the Seafloor Protection Areas (SPAs), as the focus in these areas is on equipment that disturbs the seabed.

• Boating and water activities: standard low-impact activities like swimming, kayaking, snorkelling, and careful anchoring are still allowed in the new High Protection and Seafloor Protection Areas. The HPAs are designed to restore habitats while allowing for enjoyment of the moana.

  
  

In short, while some areas are now fully restricted to allow for recovery, the vast majority of the Gulf remains open for general recreation and low-impact fishing.

Conservation considerations: healing the ecosystem

The new protections directly address some of the issues that have led to the Gulf’s decline, though they don’t (and can’t) address some of the others.

• Habitat restoration: the HPAs are designed to be safe havens, allowing marine life to regenerate and increasing the overall resilience of the Gulf. Research from the long-established Goat Island Marine Reserve has clearly shown that protecting key predators like snapper and rock lobster allows them to control kina populations, which in turn leads to the regrowth of kelp forests and a richer, more diverse ecosystem.

• Safeguarding the seafloor: the SPAs focus on protecting soft sediment ecosystems, which cover over half the Gulf's area. These ecosystems are vital for nutrient recycling and provide essential nursery habitats for juvenile fish. Protecting them from activities like dredging and trawling secures the foundation of the marine food web. 

• Ngā maunga ki te moana - what happens on the land impacts the sea: while the Act addresses pressure from fishing, sedimentation and pollution run-off remain a massive problem for the Gulf. Understandably, complex land use factors weren’t in scope for this Bill. That doesn’t mean local and central government don’t need to address them. Riparian planting, much-improved waste and stormwater infrastructure, and large-scale wetlands restoration are some of the steps we must undertake to help ensure the Gulf can be properly restored. 

• Limited overall protection of fish stocks: while the HPAs do not allow for most types of fishing, the bulk of the Gulf remains open to both recreational and commercial fishers. HPAs and SPAs will undoubtedly support environmental regeneration, but other legislative tools, such as limits to recreational and commercial quotas, are needed to help restore abundance to the Gulf.

In summary

This legislation is not the final answer. That doesn’t change the fact these protections are a significant step forward.

It gives the moana a chance to breathe, recover, and hopefully thrive, benefiting all those connected to it. We can be cautiously optimistic that by respecting these new boundaries and continuing to push for further marine and land-based protections (from the Mountains to the Sea), we can restore the mauri (life force) of Tīkapa Moana for future generations.