Tauparikākā Marine Reserve
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| Tauparikākā Marine Reserve | |
|---|---|
 Tauparikākā Marine Reserve from Ship Creek | |
  | |
| Location | Westland District, West Coast, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 43°45′28″S 169°08′57″E / 43.7576552°S 169.1491093°E |
| Area | 16 hectares (40 acres) |
| Established | 2014 |
| Governing body | Department of Conservation |
Tauparikākā Marine Reserve is a marine reserve located offshore about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Haast on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.[1] It covers the area immediately offshore from Ship Creek, which is also known as Tauparikākā in Māori.[2]
The marine reserve was established in 2014 and is administered by the Department of Conservation. It is New Zealand's smallest marine reserve, covering an area of just 16 hectares (40 acres).[3][4]
The reserve extends about 630 metres (2,070 ft) along the coastline from the Ship Creek Beach Walk north of Haast, and approximately 200 metres (660 ft) out from the shoreline.[5] It adjoins the coastlines of Te Wahipounamu and Tauparikākā Mātaitai Reserve, and includes the Ship Creek tidal river mouth, lagoon and beach foreshore.[6]
Tauparikākā includes natural examples of different habitat types: sandy beaches, the stream mouth of Ship Creek, and the shore habitats reaching out to a depth of about 5 metres (16 ft). Tutumairekurai (Hector’s dolphins) swim the shallow waves and seabirds like fairy prions and muttonbirds. The reserve area lies within the narrow inner shelf zone, inshore of deeply incised submarine canyons.[6]
On shore from the reserve, there is an ancient kahikatea swamp forest and a dune lake, resembling how the West Coast landscape may have looked before human settlement.[7]
History
While the area is known as Tauparikākā in Māori, it gained the European name Ship Creek after fragments of the ship Schomberg were found at the creek between 1871 and 1875.[2]
The marine reserve was established on 7 September 2014.[5] It was created for educational rather than conservationist reasons, as a way for people to have easy viewing access to Hector’s dolphins.[8]