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Conflicting boundaries at Goat Island Marine Reserve have prompted the Department of Conservation (DOC) to remove physical markers that do not match the reserve’s legally gazetted boundary.
DOC plans to remove the existing western boundary markers at Cape Rodney/Okakari Point Marine Reserve, also known as Goat Island Marine Reserve or Te Hāwere-a-Maki, before October 24.
The markers sit about 250 metres inside the western boundary gazetted when New Zealand’s first marine reserve was established in 1975.
This means around five per cent of the original reserve, or about 27 hectares, appears to sit outside the physical markers, although marine charts, digital mapping systems and chart plotters show the correct legal boundary.
DOC says the discrepancy dates to an arrangement made by the reserve’s management committee in 1982.
However, the change was never formally incorporated into the reserve’s gazette notice.
The problem has become more significant since the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act came into effect last October, adding an extension that tripled the protected area.
DOC says the existing line-of-sight markers appear to apply to the extension as well, potentially giving water users the impression that about 100 hectares of legally protected waters lie outside the reserve.
This can leave recreational and commercial boaties seeing one boundary on the water while their GPS or marine charts show another. To eliminate the confusion, DOC will remove the markers and currently has no plans to replace them.
Boaties are being advised to use legally defined boundaries shown on marine maps and GPS systems, and to ensure chart plotters are up to date. DOC also provides coordinates and GPX files for marine protected areas.
The department is reminding water users that the legal boundary takes precedence over physical markers and fishing within a marine reserve without authorisation is illegal, with breaches potentially resulting in fines or prosecution.
