Status: good
Tāwharanui Marine Reserve contains a wide variety of habitats typical of the northeastern biogeographic region. These include: exposed beaches with tuatua and scallop beds, boulder beaches with caves and archways, and extensive rocky reefs with rock pools exposed at low tide.
In 2011, half of the surveyed sites were grazed to urchin barrens and there were large areas of gravel and sand in the deeper water offshore. Reefs in the reserve are mostly covered by kelp (Ecklonia radiata), but some areas have a mix of seaweeds. Urchin barrens (areas of reef grazed bare of kelp by sea urchins/kina) have become less common inside and outside the marine reserve in recent years.
A variety of fish, sea snails, sea urchins, corals, sponge gardens, sea squirts and other animals that commonly associate with these types of habitat are found in the marine reserve. Dolphin and orca also visit regularly.
