Image: Zac Penman | ©
A diver swims amongst a small school of slivery fish.
Our marine monitoring reports
We report on our monitoring data to understand the status and trends of ecosystems within marine reserves.

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to an incredible diversity of marine species and ecosystems. Marine protected areas, including marine reserves, provide these ecosystems with protection from human disturbances. DOC is responsible for the implementation of new marine reserves, as well as monitoring and management of existing marine reserves.

DOC’s marine monitoring is guided by our Marine Monitoring and Reporting Framework (MMRF). We monitor the status and trends of indicative “themes” within marine ecosystems in and around marine reserves, to evaluate marine reserve effectiveness over time.

Marine Monitoring and Reporting Framework

MMRF Monitoring Reports

We analyse and report on our monitoring data to understand the state of marine ecosystems within marine reserves, as well as examine changes over time. Under our framework, we produce two types of monitoring reports for each marine reserve:

  • Technical reports evaluate the status and trend of a monitoring theme at a marine reserve, over a period of monitoring.
  • Summary reports summarise the status and trends of all themes monitored at a marine reserve, over our complete history of monitoring.

Technical Reports

Hikurangi Marine Reserve - assessing the effects of protection on key subtidal reef species and the intertidal reef community, 2016-2024.

Published: 2025
Theme assessed: Key species (pāua, rock lobster, kina, fish)

Hikurangi Marine Reserve key species report (PDF, 2,157K)

Summary Reports

Tapuae Marine Reserve Summary Report - monitoring of habitats, climate change, and key species, 2000-2024.

Published: 2026
Themes summarised: Habitat, climate change, key species

Tapuae Marine Reserve summary report (PDF, 4,485K)

Bibliography

Department of Conservation (2026). Tapuae Marine Reserve Summary Report - monitoring of habitats, climate change and key species, 2000-2024. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 23 p.

Gerrity, S., Virgin, S., Ladds, M. (2025). Hikurangi Marine Reserve - assessing the effects of protection on key subtidal reef species and the intertidal reef community, 2016-2024. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 29 p.