As we approach the 2026 General Election, Revive Our Gulf is asking all political parties to commit to restoring the health and ecological function of our marine environment.
During this term of Parliament, we saw the introduction of new marine protected areas in Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi, the Hauraki Gulf, which provides an important foundation. Revive Our Gulf believes that the next challenge is to build on that momentum by moving beyond individual projects and short-term funding towards sustained investment in the science, partnerships, and practical capability needed to restore degraded marine habitats at a meaningful scale.
In August this year, we wrote to political party leaders seeking their commitment to three key asks:
For shellfish reefs in particular, we believe the next decade should be a period of deliberate investment in learning and action: identifying where restoration has the greatest chance of succeeding, understanding the conditions required for reefs to persist and reproduce, developing better restoration methods, and supporting Mana Whenua and communities to lead restoration at place.
Our ambition is not that the government funds one organisation or one method. It is that Aotearoa develops the long-term national capability to repair marine ecosystems that have been profoundly altered over generations. The ecological losses we are seeking to address occurred over generations. Repairing them will also require a multi-generational commitment.
Below are the responses we have received from party leaders to each of these commitments, in the order in which they were received.
Yes – Te Pāti Māori will work alongside its coalition partners to provide funding certainty for taiao restoration activities, including mitigation and adaptation toward climate resilience.
The Green Party would support the establishment of a long-term national marine restoration fund to ensure our ocean is protected and enhanced for all of us. We will always put the health of our oceans above corporate interests. We will place Te Tiriti o Waitangi at the centre of our approach to restoring the abundance of our moana. We will work towards every New Zealander enjoying the right to gather kaimoana and experiencing abundant marine life for generations to come. Our Drink Swim Fish policy announced earlier this year is our commitment to the health of our communities and the health of our environment always coming first. We will make sure all New Zealanders can drink, swim, and fish in the places they love – including the Hauraki Gulf.
National supports restoring degraded marine habitats and has already invested in removing kina barrens to help restore kelp forests in the Hauraki Gulf. We will build on that work. A re-elected National Government will establish a $20 million Fish Tech Innovation Fund in partnership with the seafood sector. It will support research and innovation that reduces seabed contact and protects sensitive habitats, alongside better biomass data. We will also keep the ban on harvesting from rockpools to help these ecosystems recover, and work to improve fisheries data so pressures are identified earlier.
Labour believes marine protection should be funded appropriately. This includes investment in the restoration of degraded marine habitats, including shellfish reefs and supporting an evidence based approach to marine management and restoration.
Yes. Opportunity will invest in long-term marine restoration, recognising that healthy oceans are essential to thriving coastal communities, abundant fisheries and a sustainable blue economy. Our Healthy Oceans policy commits to restoring coastal ecosystems, including wetlands, mangroves, seagrass meadows and salt marshes, and to increasing investment in marine research, threatened species recovery and biodiversity restoration. We will also introduce a ‘beneficiary pays’ approach, with resource rentals from commercial fishing helping fund ongoing biodiversity restoration, marine protected area management and habitat recovery across New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. These investments will be supported by integrated ocean governance and long-term regional ocean plans, providing a more strategic, coordinated approach to restoring our marine environment for future generations.
No response received by the time of publication. We will update this blog should a response be provided.
No response received by the time of publication. We will update this blog should a response be provided.
Yes – Te Pāti Māori is committed to resourcing mana whenua to undertake and uphold their Kaitiakitanga responsibilities at a catchment and sub-catchment level, including sub-catchment groups, partnerships and alliances seeking to restore the Gulf.
We have committed, through our Manifesto, to embed kaitiakitanga Māori in marine policy and operational management. This includes sustained resourcing for iwi and hapū to lead oceans protection and implement mātauranga- and tikanga-based projects for ocean conservation.
National recognises the Hauraki Gulf’s importance to mana whenua, and will uphold the Crown’s Treaty fisheries settlement obligations, alongside property rights. That’s why we passed the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act 2025, recognizing this importance. We believe customary, recreational and commercial interests must be balanced in a way that protects the marine environment for future generations. We’re also committed to working with the fishing sector to investigate how we can improve fisheries data. Better, more transparent data will give iwi, commercial operators, and coastal communities greater certainty and protect our fishing stocks.
Labour supports ongoing reform of fisheries management to improve sustainability, transparency, and public confidence in the system. We recognise Treaty obligations and the importance of Māori participation in fisheries management. Future policy settings should ensure fisheries resources are managed for long-term abundance and deliver benefits to all New Zealanders while honouring settlement commitments and partnership obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Yes. Opportunity recognises that Mana Whenua are essential partners in restoring the health of our oceans, and that iwi and hapū need sustained resourcing to exercise kaitiakitanga in their rohe moana. Our Healthy Oceans policy commits to resourcing iwi and hapū to develop and implement marine management plans, supporting customary tools such as rāhui, mātaitai reserves and taiāpure, and funding hapū-led initiatives that restore coastal ecosystems and revitalise traditional practices. We will ensure marine protection and fisheries reforms reflect Te Ao Māori perspectives and mātauranga Māori, with local communities and Mana Whenua involved in shaping long-term marine protection and restoration priorities. This is both an obligation under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an opportunity to build on the leadership and knowledge that iwi and hapū are already bringing to marine restoration.
No response received by the time of publication. We will update this blog should a response be provided.
No response received by the time of publication. We will update this blog should a response be provided.
Yes – Te Pāti Māori is committed to restoration and protection of our fisheries, particularly tāonga species across the Gulf which may be under threat. Our written submission on fisheries reform underscores our commitment to sustainable fisheries practices, including a ban on bottom-trawling.
The Green Party have a long-standing commitment to phase out damaging fishing methods including bottom trawling, set netting and dredging. A phase-out would start with an immediate ban on bottom trawling on seamounts and ecologically sensitive areas such as the Hauraki Gulf.
Commercial fishing is a significant contributor to New Zealand’s economy, earning close to $2 billion in exports each year and supporting 9000 jobs and incomes in regional communities. Any decisions that would significantly impact New Zealand vessels, businesses and families’ economic livelihood would have to be carefully considered and clearly signalled. A re-elected National government will increase protection of our EEZ from 32% to 50% by 2040, prioritising vulnerable corals and seamounts, and review bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf.
Our approach to reducing the environmental impacts of bottom trawling is through supporting greater uptake of better fishing equipment and practises. We will establish a $20 million Fish Tech Innovation Fund to improve the environmental outcomes of the seafood sector. This Fund will be targeted towards better fishing gear and practices, including reducing the impact of bottom trawling.
Labour supports a ban on seabed mining in Aotearoa. Labour believes in a healthy, thriving ocean that ensures its precious ecosystem is protected. Labour has previously spoken out against seabed mining. We launched a Select Committee inquiry into seabed mining during our time in government, and this was thrown out by the National-led government. Labour will amend the necessary legislation and associated regulations, such as the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 (EEZ Act). We will also amend National’s replacements to the RMA and Fast Track legislation to ensure environmental protection is at the heart of these Acts. Labour will stop new areas of bottom trawling on seamounts and other vulnerable ecosystems.
Yes. Restoration cannot succeed if we continue to permit destructive practices that degrade the very ecosystems we are trying to recover. Opportunity will phase out bottom-contact fishing methods, including bottom trawling, dredging and Danish seining, with immediate closures in the Hauraki Gulf and other inshore areas experiencing critical ecosystem decline, a three-year phase-out on seamounts, and a five-year phase-out on other deep-sea features, including vulnerable coral habitats. We will also permanently ban seabed mining in New Zealand waters, expand marine protection to 30% of our ocean territory by 2035, strengthen fisheries management through ecosystem-based approaches and higher sustainability thresholds, and improve monitoring and accountability across commercial fishing. Alongside targeted restoration of coastal habitats and reduced land-based pollution through riparian planting, these measures will address the causes of marine degradation as well as its consequences, giving ecosystems the opportunity to recover and thrive.
No response received by the time of publication. We will update this blog should a response be provided.
No response received by the time of publication. We will update this blog should a response be provided.
For those parties who have released an Oceans and Fisheries policy platform, we’ve provided the links to those below so you can check out their broader plans for the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi and beyond.
