Labour Weekend marks the enforcement of a new bylaw making it compulsory to wear a lifejacket when on board a vessel 6m or under in length, unless the skipper of that vessel gives you permission not to.

Shell Todd Oil has drilled two wells off the coast of Taranaki without marine consent, the Green Party says.

A reader writes: Where does the name of the bay on the southeastern side of Kawau Island known as Bostaquet Bay come from?

Senior students went to the rescue of an Otago Boys' High School rowing eight when their skiff was hit by a powerboat driven by their coach in Otago Harbour yesterday morning.

Maritime safety agencies and police will be out in force at launching ramps and jetties over Labour weekend to explain Auckland Council's new rules on wearing life jackets in small boats.

Authorities searching for fisherman Nick Stubbs were yesterday still unable to find any trace of him.

As inaugural Safer Boating Week kicks off, boaties are being reminded how quickly things could go wrong.

When Nick Stubbs and a mate left Martins Bay near Warkworth in a red fibreglass boat at 5pm on Tuesday, he told loved ones they 'wouldn't be long'.

Trout taken from catchments where 1080 poison has been dumped are safe to eat, the Ministry of Primary Industries says.

Most households that lost power after winds battered the North Island yesterday have been reconnected.

Severe winds are expected to pound inland Canterbury today but northern New Zealand should enjoy a brief break from stormy, windy weather.

Surf lifesavers trying to find the body of missing boy Jack Dixon will decide whether to continue their search on Friday.

Severe winds have lifted roofs and brought down trees across the North Island, but Auckland and Northland have been spared the worst of the wild weather.

As $100 million of shiny new craft go on display at Auckland's On the Water Boat Show, the Hauraki Gulf has received a damning report about its health.

Wayne Redman clung to the upturned hull of his boat for hours in icy-cold water fearing he might not survive.

A fisherman missing on the Tauranga Harbour since midnight last night has been found after making his way to shore.

A nearly seven-metre long whale washed up in with the tide overnight on a Porirua beach but DoC has yet to decide how to dispose of it.

The developer behind a controversial $10 million marina project that will divide Waiheke Island says investors can "kiss their money goodbye" if the project is scrapped.

For 40 years, thousands of people have enjoyed Auckland marine reserves - now South Islanders and their visitors can look forward to similar pleasures.

Commercial fishing would be banned from the inner Hauraki gulf and the entire Marlborough Sounds under National's plan for new recreational fishing parks in those areas.

Five new marine reserves have been officially opened on the West Coast today.