Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve
Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) marine reserve was initially proposed by the New Zealand Federation of Commercial Fishermen and was established in 1993. Along with the Te Awaatu Channel (The Gut) marine reserve in Doubtful Sound it became the first marine reserve in Fiordland.
Blue cod, Fiordland Marine Area, 2004
The reserve's name, Piopiotahi, means "one native thrush". The Piopio (now thought to be extinct) was a ground-feeding bird that declined rapidly after the introduction of mammalian predators such as stoats and rats.
Piopiotahi marine reserve covers an area of 690 hectares along the northern side of Milford Sound, from the head of the Sound to Dale Point. The underwater habitats it covers are mostly deep muddy fiord basin, with a large section of deep reef and a small section of shallow rock wall along the shore. There is very steep rock-wall on the inner northern side of Milford Sound which is dominated by delicate deep water sessile invertebrates. These are animals that are fixed to the rock wall, including, encrusting tubeworms, sponges, soft corals, colonial sea squirts, black coral and anemones. This area of Milford Sound only rarely receives direct sunlight.
Piopiotahi marine reserve is one of the most popular places in Fiordland to dive and see the black corals for which the fiords are famous. Easy access has meant that some species, such as, blue cod, have been overfished, but research shows that the commonly fished rock lobster populations may be recovering in the reserve, with more and bigger rock lobster found in the reserve than outside it.