The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most valued and intensively used coastal spaces. Its mana (prestige) is embodied in its blue waters, forested islands, fertile catchments and extraordinary diversity of life, including its people. However, the Gulf is badly degraded from human activities. Some fish and seabird populations are declining, and nature’s delicate balance is being upset. This has severe knock-on effects for other species and habitats.

In response to this decline, the Sea Change Stakeholder Working Group developed the 2017 Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari – Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan (the Sea Change Plan). This includes over 180 recommendations to improve the waiora (health) and mauri (life force) of the Gulf from the land to its freshwater systems and down to the sea.

This Strategy is the Government’s response to the Sea Change Plan’s marine proposals, including fisheries management, marine protection, habitat restoration and localised management.