Planning for Marine Protected Areas
1.4 Scope of the Report
The area covered by the report extends from Kahurangi Point (40o 47’ S) in the north to Awarua Point (44o 6’ S) in the south. A national workshop of marine scientists3 identified Jackson Head as the southern limit of the West Coast marine and coastal biogeographic region. However, this boundary is disputed by the Forum and is instead placed at Awarua Point for the purposes of this report (see page 3).
At the time the Forum was set up it was agreed that the seaward boundary of the area under consideration was the territorial waters generally out to 2 nautical miles offshore. The landward boundary was the coastline to mean high water springs (MHWS), including the numerous tidal estuaries, lagoons and river mouths of the West Coast coastal marine area, the upper limits of which are defined by the West Coast Regional Coastal Plan. Throughout the report this area is referred to as the ‘West Coast coastal marine area’. The Forum is aware of an alternative seaward boundary that proposes 2 nautical miles or the 200 m depth contour (whichever is closer to shore), and the Forum may need to take this into consideration in its eventual recommendation of any MPAs.
The report is divided into 5 parts. The report does not attempt to provide information at a fine level of detail; however, it is well referenced so that material cited in the report can be easily found.
- Chapter 1 describes the background to the report, its scope, and invites public feedback.
- Chapter 2 describes what we know of the physical features and processes at work in the West Coast marine and coastal environment.
- Chapter 3 explains the biological diversity within the main marine and coastal environmental domains. By this we mean, what plants and animals (e.g. seaweeds and fish) that you might find in different habitats.
- Chapter 4 describes human uses (past and present) of the West Coast’s marine and coastal environment. It also outlines some hazards and management measures set out in the West Coast Regional Coastal Plan.
- Chapter 5 presents the marine and coastal features of the West Coast in more detail, The 600 km-long coastline and seabed out to the 2 nautical mile limit is broken up into 4 segments, and mapped at a larger scale to be more useful for the Forum and the community.
These segments do not represent ecological divisions or habitat types that will pre-empt any recommendations by the Forum. They are merely sequential geographic segments, allowing us to examine the West Coast in smaller localities and thereby increase our understanding of the information available.
3 Walls 2006a