![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JP7L5Z_Akatore_Mouth_H_kinikini_Marine_Reserve_Credit_Paul_Pope_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nThe reserves will cover 308 square kilometres of Otago’s coastal marine area.
\nPhoto: Paul Pope\n<\/p>\n
Five new marine reserves in Otago will come into force next month, marking the first new marine reserves in Aotearoa in more than a decade.<\/p>\n
The reserves will cover 308 square kilometres of Otago’s coastal marine area and are designed to protect marine habitats and species through full “no-take” protection.<\/p>\n
The network has been given a new te reo M\u0101ori name, Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia, honouring K\u0101i Tahu connections to the moana and voyages of t\u016bpuna across Te Waipounamu.<\/p>\n
The name replaces the previous title South-East Marine Protection Network and pays homage to Te Rakihouia, son of Waitaha ancestor and captain of Uruaokapuarangi (Uruao) waka R\u0101kaihaut\u016b.<\/p>\n
K\u0101i Tahu rangatira and Upoko of Te R\u016bnanga o \u014ct\u0101kou Edward Ellison said the name carried deep meaning for iwi and their connection to the moana.<\/p>\n
“The name Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia refers to the long wake or enduring ocean pathway of Te Rakihouia, son of the great explorer R\u0101kaihaut\u016b and the first-known human to journey along and around the coastline of the South Island, conveying the enduring relationship between our people and the moana,” he said.<\/p>\n
Ellison said the marine protection network strengthened the role of iwi in caring for the coastal environment.<\/p>\n
“Having governance and management structures in place that recognise the rakatirataka and kaitiakitaka of Te R\u016bnanga o Moeraki, K\u0101ti Huirapa R\u016bnaka ki Puketeraki and Te R\u016bnanga o \u014ct\u0101kou in our respective rohe will help ensure that decisions around the management of Te Au Roa reflect our customary practices and local knowledge of these coastal areas,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JNNZ58_Blue_moki_and_trumpeter_off_the_Sandfly_Bay_area_Michael_Ellison_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nBlue moki and trumpeter off the Sandfly Bay area.
\nPhoto: Michael Ellison\n<\/p>\n
Department of Conservation (DOC) operations director Aaron Fleming said the partnership marked a new approach to marine protection in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
“Our partnership with K\u0101i Tahu means we’ll share decision-making and a new team of DOC and K\u0101i Tahu rangers will carry out day-to-day management and monitoring of the marine reserves,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We see this as an opportunity to work together to improve conservation outcomes and enable these special marine ecosystems to flourish for the benefit of everyone,” he said.<\/p>\n
Preparations for Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia are already underway, including mapping, signage and baseline environmental monitoring. A team of nine rangers is being recruited to support management of the network.<\/p>\n
The boundaries of a sixth marine reserve – Te Umuk\u014dau – are being reconsidered following a legal challenge by the Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association and others involved in recent judicial review proceedings. The Minister of Conservation will make a final decision on the boundaries.<\/p>\n
The reserves were gazetted on 28 May and will come into force on 1 July 2026.<\/p>\n
![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4QM4IRB_Diverse_seaweed_community_off_the_Otago_coast_Credit_Chris_Hepburn_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nDiverse seaweed community off the Otago Coast.
\nPhoto: Chris Hepburn\n<\/p>\n
‘A catalyst for further action’<\/p>\n
The marine reserve network is the first new set of marine reserves to be established in Aotearoa in more than a decade. Conservation groups said it represented a long-awaited step for marine protection in a country where less than one percent of the marine environment is fully protected in no-take reserves.<\/p>\n
World Wide Fund for Nature New Zealand (WWF New Zealand) conservation impact medanager Jamie Fowler said the five marine reserves represented a major step forward for ocean protection after years of delay and legal proceedings.<\/p>\n
“For Otago’s wildlife, this will be game-changing,” she said.<\/p>\n
“These protections will give some of our rarest and most threatened species the breathing space they desperately need and provide genuine safe havens for hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin), pakake (New Zealand sea lion), and tutumairekurai (Hector’s dolphin).”<\/p>\n
![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JNNTK6_Paua_starfish_and_corraline_seaweeds_on_rocky_reef_off_the_Sandfly_Bay_area_Michael_Ellison_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nP\u0101ua, starfish and coralline seaweeds on rocky reef off the Sandfly Bay area.
\nPhoto: Michael Ellison\n<\/p>\n
She said the reserves will also protect key habitats, including kelp forests and bryozoan beds.<\/p>\n
“Marine protection is incredibly hard to achieve in New Zealand, which makes this outcome even more significant,” she said.<\/p>\n
“This is absolutely a moment to celebrate, but it must also be a catalyst for further action,” she said.<\/p>\n
Fowler said New Zealand must work towards protecting at least 30 percent of its ocean in “well-managed, Treaty-consistent protected areas”.<\/p>\n
“If we are serious about reversing biodiversity loss, we must build on this momentum,” she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JP7LPF_H_kinikini_Marine_Reserve_coast_view_credit_Paul_Pope_JPG.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n
Photo: Paul Pope\n<\/p>\n
Independent conservation group Forest & Bird also welcomed the decision, saying it reflected more than a decade of sustained work initiated by ministers back in 2014.<\/p>\n
Otago Southland regional conservation manager Chelsea McGaw said the reserves will help protect key species.<\/p>\n
“These reserves can’t come soon enough, with hoiho at severe risk of local extinction on the New Zealand mainland,” she said.<\/p>\n
Forest & Bird said the reserves covered just over four percent of the south-east coast and left significant areas of habitat unprotected, including offshore regions such as the Catlins and the Hay Paddock.<\/p>\n
It said New Zealand remained well below international marine protection targets, with less than one percent of its marine environment fully protected in no-take reserves.<\/p>\n
It said the milestone should be seen as “a starting point rather than the finish line”.<\/p>\n
“We’ve taken an important step today. The opportunity is now to build on this great news and accelerate efforts to get to where we need to be,” McGaw said.<\/p>\n
They are calling on all political parties to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to high levels of protection for 30 percent of our oceans, through a network of “Tiriti-consistent and tikanga-led tools and approaches and new marine protected areas legislation”.<\/p>\n