Govt announces sub-Antarctic reserves

A young elephant seal pup on Campbell Island. Photo / Otago Daily Times

Three massive marine reserves - covering more than 435,000 hectares - are to be created around the sub-Antarctic Islands, the Government announced today.

A marine reserve will cover the entire territorial sea - out to 12 nautical miles, or 22.2km - surrounding Antipodes Island, with two further marine reserves around the Bounty Islands and Campbell Island, covering 58 per cent and 39 per cent of those islands' territorial seas respectively, said Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson and Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley in a joint statement.

New prohibitions on Danish seining will be introduced in the remaining territorial sea around the island groups, ensuring the entire area - 688,548ha - achieved Marine Protected Area status, they said.

When complete, the new marine protected areas will boost the area of New Zealand's territorial sea that is protected to over 10 per cent.

However, Campbell Island's potential giant crab fishery will be allowed in the remaining area with a review after five years.

"Some of the most biologically-diverse marine communities in the world are found here and recent research shows that their diversity compares with locations such as the Galapagos Islands," Ms Wilkinson said.

Mr Heatley said the reserves highlighted the benefits of conservation and fishing interests working together to assess the merits of marine protection.

The remote sub-Antarctics were a unique area and not currently widely fished. The prohibition on any future Danish seining was a sensible step, he said.

"We have allowed for the continuation of long-lining for ling in some areas around the Bounty Islands, as this method is targeted and has a limited by-catch."

A five-year window will allow for a potential deep-water crab fishery to be explored in the territorial sea beyond the Campbell Island marine reserve. At the end of that period it would be decided whether a crab fishery can be established or whether the entire territorial sea should become a marine reserve, Mr Heatley said.

Forest & Bird welcomed the decision to expand the marine reserves and marine protected areas, but was disappointed an exception was made for the crab fishery.

Advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell said the only existing marine reserve in New Zealand's sub-Antarctic region was in the territorial waters around the Auckland Islands.

"Including all of Antipodes Island as a marine reserve is a good result for conservation," he said.

Forest & Bird would rather have seen all of the territorial seas of the other two Bounties and Campbell Islands fully protected but 60 per cent of the Bounties being put in a marine reserve, with trawling restriction in the remaining area, was a big improvement on the present lack of protection, he said.

"We should look at setting up similar forums for setting up marine reserves in other parts of New Zealand."

- NZPA