Planning for Marine Protected Areas

1.7 Where to from here?

The Forum will apply the information principles to information received during the public submission phase and the report will be finalised. The report, along with the national protection and classification standards, will then be used by the Forum to select possible MPAs.

These draft recommendations will be brought back to the various communities of interest, stakeholders, and tangata whenua for public discussion before any conclusions are reached about potential sites for MPAs, or the management regime [e.g., a Fisheries Act regulation or marine reserve] that may be appropriate.

The Forum will then consider community feedback and make recommendations to Ministers for MPA site selection on the West Coast.

Before any MPA can be established by regulation or gazettal the respective Ministers must follow the statutory process set out by the Marine Reserves Act and the Fisheries Act which requires them to consult on the protection measures to be taken.

website designed by hairyLemon