New Zealand opens five marine reserves with groundbreaking Maori co-management model to protect Otago’s coastal ecosystems

Along New Zealand’s Otago coast, a new approach to marine conservation is putting Indigenous knowledge and government authority side by side. On July 1, 2026, five new marine reserves came into force across 308 square kilometres of coastal waters, creating the country’s first group of marine reserves to be jointly managed by Māori and the government.

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