Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas.

These are areas of the sea that are protected from the public and they can not take any resources from there.

1. New Zealand is a remote, group of islands with extensive marine territory.

2. We have relied on the sea for nourishment since humans first settled here, and at times this has resulted in not able to be maintained at the current rate or level pressure on the marine environment.

3. The New Zealand Government is committed to ensuring that New Zealand’s marine biodiversity is maintained in a healthy state, and an important tool for this is Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

4. The aim is to establish a network of M Pas that is comprehensive and representative of New Zealand’s marine habitats and ecosystems.

5. The network will also protect outstanding, rare, distinctive or important marine habitats or ecosystems.

6. Marine reserves currently provide the highest level of marine protection, generally formally forbid by law, rule, or other authority harvesting or human intervention.

7. There are over 30 marine reserves in New Zealand’s territorial waters, which are managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

8. The main aim of a marine reserve is to create an area largely free of human impacts, providing a useful comparison for scientists to study.

I got all of my information from this site: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-protected-areas/