Cape Rodney-Okakari Point became New Zealand's first marine reserve in 1975. Within ten years snapper and crayfish populations, decimated by overfishing, re-established setting off a series of changes in the ecosystem of the reserve. Nowhere else on the coast teems with such a profusion of fish life that can easily be seen by visitors. The marine reserve has returned to what we imagine it would have been like prior to the arrival of humans.
It protects 547 hectares of shore and sea spanning from Cape Rodney to Okakari Point, including the waters around Goat Island. The marine reserve is also known as Goat Island or Leigh marine reserve.