DOC's work with pīkao
A pīkao recovery group has been set up with representation from a number of groups including DOC, Dunedin City Council, Otago Regional Council, Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust, the Runaka o Kāi Tahu, and other community conservation groups.
DOC Marine Ranger, Jim Fyfe,
demonstrating pīkao planting to
children from Taieri Beach School
The Pīkao Recovery Group's work is based on the aims of the communities and groups who want to see pīkao re-established on the Otago coast. The legislative basis for this is found in the Conservation Act, the Resource Management Act, and the Treaty of Waitangi, which states:
"6. Cultural, historical, spiritual, amenity, and intrinsic values are the heritage of future generations and damage to these values is often irreversible."
"11. It is important to protect representative or significant natural ecosystems and sites of biological importance, and to maintain the diversity of New Zealand's indigenous coastal flora and fauna."
A great number of beaches with high rankings in the National Sand-dune and Beach Vegetation Inventory contain remnant populations of pīkao. Some of these are considered of national importance, including populations in the Catlins.