Chris Carter: Protection of sea good for everyone

Resting beneath the waves off some of our shores are marine areas equivalent to Fiordland National Park - astonishingly rich and varied environments unique in the world.

Almost a third of all our indigenous species live in the sea, and those are just the ones we know of.

Our lack of knowledge about New Zealand's sea life is such that on average seven new marine species are being identified in our waters each fortnight.

A great many of these are in real trouble. Over 300 species are known to be in danger of extinction. Despite this, New Zealand has protected just a tiny fraction (0.3 per cent) of its marine area for future generations.

The Government wants to rectify this problem. By 2010 it thinks New Zealand should have protected up to 10 per cent of its seas, leaving the other 90 per cent open for fishing.

Is that so unreasonable? Apparently some groups think so.

They are attacking the best method of protection New Zealand has for the sea - the establishment of marine reserves. These reserves, they claim, are "locking up" vast expanses of ocean from Joe Public. What nonsense.

Marine reserves are slices of coastal or ocean habitat where fish and other marine species are not harvested to ensure their survival. They are open and accessible. People are free to dive, swim and snorkel in their waters.

Marine reserves are beneficial for recreational fishers, beneficial for the commercial fishing industry, fantastic for preserving marine species, and great for tourism, entertainment, science and education.

Experience at our few existing marine reserves, such as those at Goat Island near Leigh and the Poor Knights Islands, indicates that marine life blooms in protected habitats. Popular fish multiply and grow to a large size and families, schools and tourists flock in to see them.

Leigh attracts about 250,000 visitors a year and the Poor Knights are proving almost as popular. Local shops, diving companies, tour operators and restaurants love the business a marine reserve brings to their local community.

Many fishers do, too, because marine reserves are not fenced. Although fishing is not permitted within a reserve's boundary, fish can swim freely into adjoining marine areas, creating fantastic fishing opportunities.

People tell me that the best fishing in the north is near Leigh and the Poor Knights. That comes as no surprise - marine reserves act as nurseries for fish stocks.

By encouraging the gradual development of a larger network of marine reserves, the Government is doing nothing that is not already underway in at least 23 other countries.

In the United States, California alone has 104 marine protected areas offering differing levels of security to its sea life. Australia has proposed the largest marine reserve in the world.

It is widely accepted that a dense, flourishing marine environment offers invaluable scientific opportunity which may well benefit the sustainable management of fishing areas.

Although we have a quota management system for commercial fishing, too little is known about over half the species managed under it to assess whether harvesting levels are sustainable. A wider range of marine reserves will provide the laboratories to develop this knowledge.

The location of new marine reserves will not be sprung on local communities, as some critics claim. People applying to create reserves must actively notify affected groups about their proposals. Those groups then get a chance to state their view. The law requires it.

Some have suggested that the Marine Reserves Bill before Parliament will change this. It won't. The bill seeks to streamline the legal process for the creation of marine reserves because that process does everything in triplicate at the moment, wasting taxpayers' time and money.

The bill also gives the green light to the development of marine reserves in our exclusive economic zone.

This will enable the long-overdue protection of some deep-water environments.

I have asked the Department of Conservation to develop a picture of what a network of marine reserves in the economic zone might look like. As a starting point, I have specifically asked it to look for possible reserve sites outside important fishing areas.

My goal is not to prevent people fishing but to protect a range of sea life and habitats so they are still there for our children.

I am passionate about marine reserves. They are a win for everyone: fishers, the public, marine species and local communities.

The creation of more marine protected areas is my top priority this year as the Minister of Conservation.

* Chris Carter is the Minister of Conservation.