These new areas add to the diversity of habitats under protection, including under-represented soft sediment ecosystems, and provide new opportunities for customary management. While fishing will be restricted in 18% of the gulf, there is a carve-out for commercial ring-net fishing in high protection areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n This diminishes their status as protected areas<\/a> and makes it more difficult for New Zealand to fulfil its promise under the Global Biodiversity Framework<\/a> to protect 30% of the marine environment by 2030. <\/p>\n We should also recognise this is only a starting point in restoring the mauri (life force) of the gulf. Animals that live in the gulf\u2019s water column remain vulnerable, and given the rate of environmental change<\/a> in New Zealand\u2019s waters, we need to fast-track the conservation process.<\/p>\n Levels of protection<\/p>\n The new legislation has three forms of protection. <\/p>\n Marine reserves are complete no-take zones. High protection areas (HPAs) allow for restoration activities and provide for customary practices of tangata whenua. Seafloor protection areas (SPAs) protect habitats on the seabed, but they allow for activities that don\u2019t damage them, such as non-bottom fishing. <\/p>\n All three forms of protection share a common theme in restricting large-scale seafloor disturbances from bottom trawling and dredging, large-scale removal of non-living material such as sand, and dumping or discharge of waste.<\/p>\n The protection of the seafloor is critical to preserving the many benefits we gain from its ecosystems<\/a>, including carbon storage, the processing of excess nutrients, provision of food for fish, and nursery habitats.<\/p>\n HPAs value M\u0101ori management and support the restoration of nature and culture. This opens up opportunities to undertake active restoration to accelerate passive recovery. Such activities may include large-scale kina (sea urchin) removal and re-seeding of shellfish populations. <\/p>\n Many of the HPAs are alongside areas where significant restorative efforts are happening on land. This acknowledges land-sea connections<\/a> and these areas will hopefully become successful examples of what integrated management can achieve. <\/p>\n Lessons from NZ\u2019s oldest marine reserve<\/p>\n The Cape Rodney-Okakari Point (Goat Island) Marine Reserve at Leigh became New Zealand\u2019s first legislated marine reserve 50 years ago. <\/p>\n This reserve, on the north-east coast of the Hauraki Gulf, will quadruple in size under the new law. It has taught us many lessons about how coastal reef ecosystems are affected by human activity and how marine reserves benefit people, including fishers. <\/p>\n For example, we know that marine reserves maintain populations of predators<\/a>, such as large lobsters and snapper, which stop sea urchins from becoming too abundant and over-grazing coastal kelp forests. <\/p>\n In the protected waters of the Goat Island marine reserve, snapper can grow big and populate other areas across the Hauraki Gulf. The ability to protect large snapper has also demonstrated that size matters in fish reproduction<\/a>. The marine reserve contributes disproportionately to the snapper population<\/a> across a large part of the gulf. If this is scaled with the new protection area, it should lead to a more productive fishery that will benefit all.<\/p>\n The expansion of the Cape Rodney-Okarkai Point Marine Reserve and the Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve at Hahei will open up new opportunities for learning about connections between reef and soft-sediment habitats and how they influence biodiversity. <\/p>\n Fast-tracking marine conservation<\/p>\n Overfishing, pollution, climate change and invasive species mean marine ecosystems are changing rapidly. Management responses must do so as well.<\/p>\n Successive State of the Gulf Reports<\/a> have documented the continued decline of its ecosystems. This new legislation builds on decades of efforts to protect the gulf. It follows the 2016 Sea Change\/Tai Timu Tai Pari marine spatial plan<\/a> and the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act 2000<\/a> which provided special recognition for the gulf but no additional protection. <\/p>\n During times of rapid environmental change, we need strong connections between science, policy and management. Otherwise, we\u2019re at risk of missing the connections and processes<\/a> responsible for ecological tipping points. <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251007-56-arvpsa.jpg\")
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