Kahurangi Marine Reserve
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| Kahurangi Marine Reserve | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Buller District, New Zealand |
| Nearest city | Nelson |
| Coordinates | 40°57′29″S 172°06′04″E / 40.957941°S 172.1010063°E |
| Area | 8,419 hectares (20,800 acres) |
| Established | 2014 |
| Governing body | Department of Conservation |
Kahurangi Marine Reserve is a marine reserve administered by the Department of Conservation, covering 8,419 hectares (20,800 acres) offshore of Kahurangi National Park in the Buller District of New Zealand's West Coast Region.[1][2]
Kahurangi is one of the largest marine reserves in New Zealand, extending along 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of coastline between Wekakura Point and Crayfish Point, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) out to sea.[3]
The reserve features an area of remote coastline with sandy beaches and boulders, alongside nīkau forest. The northern end of the coast is a habitat for fur seals (Kekeno) and Hector's dolphins, 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.[1]
The reserve reaches depths of about 50 metres (160 ft), with a seabed of mud and sand providing a habitat for burrowing shellfish and coastal fish like flounder, gurnard, snapper and sharks.[1]
History
The reserve was proposed in September 2011,[4] and was formally approved by Conservation Minister Nick Smith in March 2013.[5] It was much smaller than what had originally been proposed.[6]
The regulation establishing the marine reserve was passed by Prime Minister John Key on 11 August 2014, and took effect 7 September 2014.[7]
In October 2016, rangers using a helicopter spotted the crew of a fishing vessel trawling within the reserve.[8]
In December 2017, another fisher was fined $16,000 for fishing in the reserve.[9]
In December 2020, a man from Nelson was fined $13,500 for commercial fishing in the marine reserve.[10] 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.[11] He did not know the area was a marine reserve.[12]