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As many as 93 percent of people who made submissions on the Hākaimangō-Matiatia (NW Waiheke) Marine Reserve supported the proposal.
The Department of Conservation received an application from Friends of the Hauraki Gulf in 2021 to create a new marine reserve that covers 2350 hectares over Hakaimango-Matiatia (north-west Waiheke) and extends seaward.
A marine reserve would see the area fully protected from the sea surface to the seafloor, including the foreshore, but still allow for activities like snorkelling, boating and diving that do not harm the marine environment.
DoC received 1303 submissions before the deadline, with 93 percent in support and seven percent against.
"Such an emphatic level of popular support for a marine reserve we believe is quite unprecedented," Friends of the Hauraki Gulf said in a newsletter. "Clearly it reflects a growing public awareness of the need for urgent action to protect our marine environment. This now has become high priority for conservation-minded New Zealanders."
The proposal has the support of the Ngāti Paoa Trust Board and the local Piritahi Marae as well as the Waiheke Local Board, Auckland Council and Maritime New Zealand (Ministry of Transport). Prominent environmental organisations such as Forest & Bird, Greenpeace and the Environmental Defence Society have also put their weight behind the proposal.
Friends of the Hauraki Gulf responded to the objections and a summary of that can be found here.
Scientists are particularly interested to see how quickly marine species can recover in the area if the marine reserve is established and many respected scientists supported the proposal.
It is also expected to bring about economic benefits. Research out of Auckland University found significant economic benefits from the spawning of just one species (tāmure / snapper) in one of the smallest marine reserves in the Hauraki Gulf (Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve 547ha).
New Zealand has 44 marine reserves, but this covers only 0.4 percent of mainland New Zealand's territorial sea. A marine reserve at Goat Island, north of Auckland, was the first to be established in 1975.
Find the Friends of the Hauraki Gulf's latest newsletter here.
