Site Menu

Conservation

Marine & coastal

In this section:

Marine & coastal

Marine protection for the New Zealand subantarctic islands

Published:

June 2006

Scattered across the Southern Ocean are five island groups we call 'the subantarctics'. Together they form one of the last bastions of nature on the planet. Action now to protect these marine areas will allow us to safeguard this treasure trove for years to come.

Download the publication

Front cover of the publication

For faster downloading, we have split the PDF version of the publication into three parts:

Part one, pages 1 - 10 (PDF, 849K)

Contents
Introduction p4
Purpose of the document p7
- The Government's formal position p8
- What's been done so far p10

Part two, pages 11 - 26 (PDF, 609K)

Where in the world p11
New Zealand's subantarctic islands p12
- Geology p12
- Oceanography p13
- Climate p13
- Ecology p14
- Flora and fauna p15
- Human history p24
- Protection and management p26

Part three, pages 27 - 48 (PDF, 1,055K)

Bounty Islands p27
Antipodes Islands p30
Campbell/Motu Ihupuku Island p33
Issues p36
- Growing knowledge base p36
- Managing human impacts p36
- Potential risks p36
What now p41
- Who is involved p41
- Potential protection tools p42
What next p43
Further information p44

Or you can download the full publication:
Marine protection for the New Zealand subantarctic islands (PDF, 2,409K)
Please note: this is a large file and may take time to download.

Summary

This document is a background paper in preparation towards planning for the protection of the marine environment around the subantarctic island groups located in the Subantarctic Islands Marine Biogeographic Region: the Bounty, Antipodes and Campbell/Motu Ihupuku Islands.

It focuses on ways protection could be extended from the land masses into the inshore marine environment.

The first part of this document outlines the geological, climatic, oceanographic and biological characteristics of the island groups, and summarises the human history in the area, as well as the way the area is currently managed and used. Each of the three island groups is then described in closer focus, with emphasis on the marine environment.

The document outlines the issues faced in the Subantarctic region including the existing and potential pressures on the natural environment. It also outlines the current management regime and then sets out the steps for developing options for protection of the marine environment for the future.

Viewing this document

This document is currently only available on this website as a PDF or other file such as Word or Excel. If you can't view this file please get in touch with the listed contact to request another format or a hard copy. About PDFs and other inaccessible content.