Kahurangi Marine Reserve is a marine reserve administered by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

, covering offshore of

Kahurangi National Park Kahurangi National Park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers , ranging to near Golden Bay in the north. Much of what was the ...

in the Buller District of New Zealand's

West Coast Region The West Coast ( mi, Te Tai Poutini, lit=The Coast of Poutini, the Taniwha) is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island that is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. ...

Geography

Kahurangi is one of the largest marine reserves in New Zealand, extending along of coastline between Wekakura Point and Crayfish Point, and out to sea. The reserve features an area of remote coastline with sandy beaches and boulders, alongside

nīkau ''Rhopalostylis sapida'', commonly known as nīkau ( mi, nīkau), is a palm tree endemic to New Zealand, and the only palm native to mainland New Zealand. Etymology is a Māori word; in the closely related Eastern Polynesian languages of the ...

forest. The northern end of the coast is a habitat for

fur seals Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively lon ...

(Kekeno) and

Hector's dolphins Hector's dolphin (''Cephalorhynchus hectori'') is one of four dolphin species belonging to the genus ''Cephalorhynchus''. Hector's dolphin is the only cetacean endemic to New Zealand, and comprises two subspecies: ''C. h. hectori'', the more nu ...

, and driftwood along the coast is a habitat for animals like earwigs, sandhoppers and spiders. Rocky reefs and seastacks provide a habitat for encrusting animals, invertebrates and inshore fish that thrive in murky waters. The reserve reaches depths of about , with a seabed of mud and sand providing a habitat for burrowing shellfish and coastal fish like flounder, gurnard, snapper and sharks.

History

The reserve was proposed in September 2011, and was formally approved by Conservation Minister Nick Smith in March 2013. It was much smaller than what had originally been proposed. The regulation establishing the marine reserve was passed by Prime Minister John Key on 11 August 2014, and took effect 7 September 2014. In October 2016, rangers using a helicopter spotted the crew of a fishing vessel trawling within the reserve. In December 2017, another fisher was fined $16,000 for fishing in the reserve. In December 2020, a man from Nelson was fined $13,500 for commercial fishing in the marine reserve. According to a court summary of facts, he deployed a bottom trawl net the previous New Year's Eve while travelling back from a fishing trip at Greymouth. He did not know the area was a marine reserve.

Recreation

Visitors are urged to travel with sufficient food, water, warm clothing and wet weather gear, and tell people where they are going and when they expect to return. They must remain at least from seals at all times. Quad bikes and horses can be ridden within the reserve, provided disturbance is minimal. Small stones, shells, driftwood, sand and gravel can be collected in small quantities by hand. Pounamu can also be collected by Ngāi Tahu or with iwi permission.

References

{{Buller District Marine reserves of New Zealand Protected areas of the West Coast, New Zealand Buller District 2014 establishments in New Zealand Protected areas established in 2014

Geography

History

Recreation

See also

References