Marine Protected Areas Policy Statement & Implementation Plan

The Government is strongly committed to protecting representative samples of the full range of marine habitats and ecosystems as part of a wider strategy to effectively conserve New Zealand’s biodiversity. The Marine Protected Areas Policy Statement and Implementation Plan represent a significant step towards achieving this goal. They provide information about the Government’s MPA objectives and outline how government agencies, tangata whenua and interested parties may contribute to achieving those objectives.

The MPA Policy Statement sets out a series of high-level principles that will guide planning and prioritising the MPA network at the national level and the selection of possible MPA sites and management tools. The MPA Implementation Plan sets out a process to develop a network of MPAs in a manner consistent with the objective and principles of the Policy Statement. The MPA Annual Operating Plan sets out key tasks to be undertaken in a given year.

A range of management tools that could potentially contribute to the MPA network is discussed. They include marine reserves, Fisheries Act tools, Resource Management Act measures and other tools.

The Draft Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Policy Statement and Implementation Plan, developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Ministry of Fisheries (MFish), was released for public comment and submissions closed on 28 February 2005.