Source: Department of Conservation
Today we celebrate 10 years of West Coast Marine Reserves with a look at where they are, who looks after them, and what they are helping us discover.
The West Coast has five marine reserves, which represent the different habitat types found on the West Coast. The West Coast has a pretty wild coastline, so these marine reserves are mostly enjoyed by visitors from the shore, where the continuous mountains to sea landscapes give you the feeling you are somewhere special.
The reserves were established after thorough discussions over several years that involved Poutini Ngāi Tahu, local community representatives and several stages of public consultation. By the time the reserves came into being, the local and other public support for them was strong, and that’s been reflected in the way that the ‘no fishing in the reserves’ rule is followed very well.
You would think in a place like the West Coast there would be remote places that nobody accessed, but the consultation process showed all areas on the coast were being accessed to some degree.
The main intent of marine reserves is as areas for scientific study. But they have also been celebrated as places to enjoy the natural environment, and as a kind of insurance against the impacts that people can have on the sea. They are a place where fish and other sea life can grow, sustaining local habitats and breeding stocks. Each of the reserves has quite unique features.
Location of the West Coast’s five marine reserves:
The Kahurangi Marine Reserve reaches along 16 kilometres of coast, alongside the Heaphy Track Great Walk and the Kahurangi National Park. The wide tidal zone of rocks and beaches in this large reserve are great to explore, with expansive mussel beds supporting starfish, octopus and seaweeds. Offshore, the broad continental shelf is home to sealife like fur seals/kekeno, red cod, gurnard and sharks.
The Punakaiki Marine Reserve is centred on the world-famous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes walkway, and the ‘secret treasure’ of the Truman Track coastline. The reserve extends the protection of the Paparoa National Park out into the Tasman Sea, to include rocky reefs where bull kelp swirls in the waves, and open ocean where seabirds like terns/tara, penguins/kororā and Westland petrels/taiko catch their fishy food.
Waiau Glacier Coast Marine Reserve reaches 11 km from Kohuamarua Bluff to Omoeroa Bluff. The reserve complements the exceptional glacial landscapes of Westland Tai Poutini National Park to make it a truly ‘Mountains to Ocean’ sequence. Extending about 4km offshore, it is one of the largest marine reserves in mainland New Zealand
Tauparikākā Marine Reserve is New Zealand’s smallest marine reserve at just 17 hectares, but it importantly protects the ‘watery’ parts of the Ship Creek visitor site. Here you can enjoy walking the beach, watching the Hector’s dolphins, and paddling in the tea-coloured stream mouth.
The remote Hautai Marine Reserve lies 50 km south of Jackson Bay and covers 8.5 km2. This reserve protects some rocky coastal habitats where crayfish, kina, cod and other marine life can thrive. Further out from the Hautai Reserve, underwater canyons reach ocean depths of more than 3000 metres and add to the rich diversity of this area.
Marine Reserves Ranger Don Neale has worked on the West Coast for DOC for over 35 years, always in a role with something to do with the ocean. His daily job involves monitoring, research, advocacy and making sure people follow the rules put in place to protect these reserves. Here he is with a sample of sea water which is being DNA tested to see what species exist in this particular stretch of coastline as part of a survey of the Kahurangi Marine Reserve coastline.
Baseline monitoring of the marine reserves and nearby areas has been set up in the last few years. Over time this will show how the sea is changing and the difference that the protection is making in those places. Here, two researchers measure the abundance of mussels on a rock platform in an intertidal area in the Kahurangi Marine Reserve.
Protecting these individual reserves is more than a matter of making sure people don’t fish or gather seafood in them. Climate change is a massive threat to the health of marine reserves and the ocean generally. Over the past few summers, the West Coast has had marine heatwaves, raising the temperature of the oceans by an average of 5oC. Through photo analysis, DOC has noticed a worrying trend at a number of West Coast sites of bull kelp die-off, as this photo taken at the Punakaiki Marine Reserve demonstrates. Bull kelp is a large native seaweed that provides habitat for a number of marine species, and the die-off is a highly visible indication that our global carbon emissions are having a huge impact on the natural environment, which we depend on for our health and wellbeing.
Westland’s marine reserves can be seen as ‘a window into the ocean’ for us all. They are protecting some of our special places, and revealing new things that might otherwise pass us by and go unnoticed.
So get down to one of your wonderful marine reserves, celebrate their 10th anniversary, and see what you can find!
