New Zealand is surrounded by waters home to species such as the critically endangered Hawkesbill Turtle, pictured above.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand—New Zealand plans to create an ocean sanctuary almost the size of Texas, becoming the latest island nation in the Pacific to put ecological protection and tourism ahead of fishing and mining industries.
At a time when global stocks of many fish species are declining, protected marine areas have been created across thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean. A big concern of governments is that foreign trawler fleets have been moving in on the region after fish stocks, particularly popular species like tuna, were depleted elsewhere in the world. New Zealand’s proposal follows moves by the Pacific island nation of Palau to convert its entire 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone into a marine sanctuary.
“The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will be one of the world’s largest and most significant fully-protected areas,” Prime Minister John Key said at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. New Zealand aims to pass legislation enabling the creation of the sanctuary by October next year.
Authorities are betting the pristine environment and relatively abundant fish supplies in these protected areas will generate a greater economic benefit from tourism than fisheries, or from mining natural resources like copper and gold found in the region. Tourism accounts for around 7% of New Zealand’s GDP. Visitor arrivals to New Zealand numbered 3.02 million in the year to August, the highest-ever annual total.
The protected zone will stretch around New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands, which are the visible surface of the world’s longest chain of underwater volcanoes, stretching for roughly 1,600 miles between New Zealand and Tonga. It includes the world’s second-deepest ocean trench and is home to six million seabirds of 39 different species, more than 150 species of fish, 35 species of whales and dolphins, three species of sea turtles—all endangered—along with many other marine species.
A Galapagos Shark. New Zealand’s planned ocean sanctuary will be one of the world’s biggest, Prime Minister John Key said. PHOTO:MALCOLM FRANCES NIWA
The surprise decision to extend existing marine protections in the area to ban all fishing prompted industry calls for compensation for fishermen whose livelihoods would be affected.
“With no forewarning from government the industry needs time to consider the full implications,” Seafood New Zealand Chairman George Clement said.
The ban goes further than existing quotas on species such as tuna designed to keep fish stocks at sustainable levels. At 620,000 square kilometers (239,383 square miles) the planned protection zone is roughly twice the size of New Zealand’s land area, and extends out to the 200 nautical mile limit of New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Charles Hufflett, owner of the Nelson-based Solander group that fishes in both New Zealand and Fiji, said he would be opposing the government’s decision that was made with no discussion or warning.
“We have only really just developed a domestic tuna industry of any size and they are taking away this valuable area,” he said.
Policing such a wide swath of ocean will likely prove tough. Palau has experimented with drones to safeguard its territorial waters from illegal fishing. Tech companies are also helping confront the challenge, given that most Pacific island nations run tiny budgets. Last year, Google Inc. teamed up with a mapping company and a marine-advocacy groupto create a new tool aimed at reining in illegal fishing.
Overfishing is a growing concern world-wide, with around 30% of marine stocks overfished, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
Several years ago, a study published by the World Bank and U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization put the economic losses from poor fisheries management and overfishing at up to $50 billion a year.
Other protected areas in the Pacific region include the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, the Australian Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve and the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve, announced recently by the British Government.
“New Zealand will create the gold standard of conservation areas in the Kermadecs, preserving one of the few relatively unspoiled areas of ocean on Earth,” said Matt Rand, director of the Pew Charitable Trust’s Global Ocean Legacy campaign.
Write to Rebecca Howard at rebecca.howard@wsj.com
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