Evaluation of biodiversity benefits of proposed marine protected areas from the Sea Change—Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauraki Gulf MarineSpatial Plan

Abstract

The Sea Change—Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan is New Zealand's first marine spatial plan and represents a collaborative response from mana whenua, local stakeholders, and regional and national governmental agencies to the threats and stressors responsible for the declining natural state of the Hauraki Gulf ecosystems. From a biodiversity perspective, the main objectives of the plan are the recovery of depleted fishing stocks and the restoration of degraded marine habitats through a network of marine protected areas (MPAs), including highly protected areas that allow for customary practices. While some information on biodiversity, resource activities, and management layers was used to develop the MPA network proposals, they were developed without benefit of systematic conservation planning tools. Here, systematic conservation planning software was used to assess the conservation benefits of different no‐take MPA network proposals, using available biodiversity and habitat datasets. The analysis indicates that while the proposed MPAs provide protection for some biodiversity features that were identified by the stakeholders, the inclusion of newly available biodiversity datasets under a systematic conservation planning approach could improve conservation outcomes.

Modelling spatial distributions of biogenic habitat‐forming taxa to inform marine spatial planning

“…The extent of the HGMP that will be protected (no‐take marine reserve or other partial protection measures) is the subject of current consultation with stakeholders, and a similar process with respect to determining restrictions on mobile bottom‐impact fishing has been recently initiated. Spatial planning exercises using the decision‐support tool Zonation have supported many of these processes (Bennion et al, 2023; Jackson & Lundquist, 2016; Lundquist, Tablada & Watson, 2020; Tablada, Geange & Lundquist, 2022).…”

“…To date, spatial planning efforts in the HGMP have used the best available data of the time. Most recently, Tablada, Geange and Lundquist (2022) made use of coarse biogenic habitat layers for assessing proposed protected areas suggested in ‘Revitalising the Gulf Government action on the Sea Change Plan’ (MPI, 2021). While the modelled layers produced here are a significant improvement from some of these layers, there is still room for improvement.…”

“…Regardless of the management actions taken by the New Zealand Government, the effectiveness of any measures will depend on compliance and on continued monitoring and reassessment of management areas to ensure that spatial measures are having desirable results (O'Leary et al, 2019; Stelzenmüller et al, 2021). For example, see Lohrer et al (2023) regarding the potential for rebound effects and Tablada, Geange and Lundquist (2022) on the need for assessment of proposed spatial management measures. The HGMP and its motu (islands) represent one of the most studied marine spaces in New Zealand, and yet there was still relatively little data to develop the models detailed here.…”

“…For example, in 2020, the decision‐support tool Zonation was used to assess spatial management options proposed by the spatial plan. Broad‐scale spatial predictions of species occurrences and habitat layers were input to Zonation to assess proposed MPAs and identify priority areas for management (Lundquist, Tablada & Watson, 2020; Tablada, Geange & Lundquist, 2022). However, previous work relied on coarse maps of biogenic habitat for six key groups, the data available had limited spatial coverage, and expert‐derived layers were not validated with empirical data (Lundquist, Tablada & Watson, 2020).…”

“…MPAs and commercially important areas). These decision‐support tools offer a powerful means for spatial planners to explore different spatial management options and have been used for marine spatial planning to inform fisheries management in New Zealand and the South Pacific high seas (Rowden et al, 2019; Tablada, Geange & Lundquist, 2022). However, to date, there are relatively few examples of successful, data‐driven spatial planning processes in the marine environment (Agardy, Di Sciara & Christie, 2011; Frazão Santos et al, 2019).…”