Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve extension

Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve Extension

Dept of Conservation (DoC) Consultation
Submissions due 28 October 2022

DoC is calling for submissions on the marine protection plan for the Hauraki Gulf. The plan includes the extension of the Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve.

You can read DoC’s call for submissions here.

We will discuss the proposed plan at the AGM to help determine how we, as an affected community, respond.

In the meantime, here is some background information

1. History/Sea Change – after 3 years of consultation, a non-statutory plan to improve the health of the Hauraki Gulf was published in April 2017.  The plan, Sea Change, included amongst 180 proposals, a recommendation to extend the Cathedral Cove Marine Reserve. The Sea Change plan contained several controversial recommendations, so it was shelved for a few years. Last year, the government decided to move ahead and created an advisory group to implement the plan. Marine reserves implementation is to be handled by DOC, while the Ministry of Fisheries will take care of matters. You can read more details here. Alternatively, Stuff produced an interesting documentary on the state of Hauraki Gulf. Click here to watch it.
2. Cathedral Cove Marine Reserve Expansion Details –. To read the detailed assessment of ALL proposed Marine Protection Areas (MPAs), go here. This is a 116-page document, and to save you time, click here Hahei Marine Reserve Technical Report for 5 pages related to Hahei. The current plan is to expand the marine reserve about halfway along Hahei Beach, out to Mahurangi Island, and then out across Mercury Bay. An additional 14.6km2 would be included in the reserve. Here is what is proposed