As a result of this consultation, the Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) Marine Mammal Sanctuary was announced on 17 November 2021. It came into effect 15 December 2021.
More about Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) Marine Mammal Sanctuary.
The departmental advice that informed the Minister of Conservation’s decision on the Sanctuary has been proactively released.
Departmental advice (PDF, 4,660K)
Parts of the advice have been redacted in accordance with the Official Information Act (OIA). Where any information has been redacted, the applicable section of OIA has been identified with the redaction.
On this page:
On behalf of the Minister of Conservation, DOC invited submissions on this proposal to establish a marine mammal sanctuary (MMS). Submissions closed on 18 May 2021. You can view all the submissions below.
DOC received 645 submissions on the proposal to establish a marine mammal sanctuary in Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands). All submissions and their attachments can be accessed below.
Submissions have been allocated a unique number. If a submission had supporting documentation, the supporting documentation can be found in the submission attachment documents.
You can use the search function in the documents to find a particular submission. Clicking on the submission name in the content list will take you to that submission within the document.
The table at the beginning of each submission shows if the submission has supporting documents. If it does have supporting documents, they can be found in either of the submission document attachments above.
Redactions of contact details, and other information, have been made in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982.
The bottlenose dolphin population is declining in Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands). This area has a uniquely high levels of vessel interactions affecting all marine mammals.
The near-constant presence of people and vessels disrupts normal behaviours critical for survival, such as resting and feeding. This can cause:
These factors may have led to high calf mortality and subsequent decline in numbers. Findings from research into the bottlenose dolphin population in Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) include:
Video about the issues facing marine mammals in Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands).
Having considered issues raised through the public submission process the Minister of Conservation decided to declare the Marine Mammal Sanctuary with the following amendments to the proposal that was notified for consultation:
Providing additional specific exemptions for:
The original proposal can be read in the consultation document.
Details of the marine mammal sanctuary that has been declared, with these amendments can be found on the Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) Marine Mammal Sanctuary webpage.
View the NZ Gazette notice for the proposed sanctuary.
The public consultation document ‘A proposal to establish a marine mammal sanctuary in Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands)’ includes more information about:
Download the consultation document (PDF, 2,270K)
The supporting information document ‘Supporting information on Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) marine mammal sanctuary proposal’ includes more information about:
Download the supporting information document (PDF, 3,740K)
Ngā Hapū o te Pēwhairangi (Hapū from the Bay of Islands) representatives and Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation have co-designed the marine mammal sanctuary proposal through a joint hapū-Te Papa Atawhai project team.
When considering the proposal, the Minister of Conservation will have particular regard to the views of whānau, hapū and iwi who exercise kaitiakitanga in part of the common marine and coastal area subject to the MMS. This process comes from te Takutai Moana Act 2011.
Following the public submissions period which closed at 5 pm 18 May 2021: