New South Island Marine Reserves finally here

The Minister of Conservation has announced the creation of five marine reserves off the Otago and south-Canterbury coast, forming the Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia marine protection network.

A sixth area, the proposed Te Umu Kōau Marine Reserve, is still under consideration following a legal challenge by the Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association in which EDS was involved.

The new reserves are protected ‘no take’ zones. They will protect important habitat for these species, as well as ecologically significant and highly productive estuarine and tidal lagoons, rocky reefs, offshore canyons, giant kelp forests and deepwater lace coral thickets, which are increasingly threatened by a combination of fishing, sedimentation and climate change impacts.