Welcome

The West Coast of New Zealand's South Island features a wonderful and diverse marine environment.

This forum is run by local people to examine ways to protect our marine ecosystems, seascapes and marine wildlife.

A wide range of representatives make up the forum, including: community members, fishers, tangata whenua, conservation groups and local authorities.Forum members and fact sheet.

It's part of the Marine Protected Areas Policy and a key component of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy which aims to protect 10% of this country's marine environment by 2010.

The forum will discuss the Coast's role in maintaining New Zealand's marine habitats and ecosystems in a healthy, functioning state beyond 2020.

The new approved Marine Protected Areas Classification or Protection Standards have been released and can be downloaded from here:

MPA PDF MPA Policy FAQ
Visit the Department of Conservation's marine homepageVisit the Ministry of Fisheries Marine Protected Areas site