New Zealand is a maritime nation with the 4th largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world. Our waters are the home of many protected species: over 40 cetaceans (whales and dolphins), nine pinnipeds (seals, etc), and more than 80 seabirds have been recorded, as well as a diverse range of corals, protected fish and reptiles. These waters also provide for important commercial, recreational and customary fishing resources.
Marine protected species may be threatened by commercial fishing. Direct impacts include being caught, injured or killed in nets or on hooks. Benthic species may also be impacted by bottom trawlers and other fishing methods operating on or near the seabed. Indirect impacts such as habitat modification, food competition and behaviour modification of protected species may also occur. These impacts may compromise the viability or recovery of protected species populations.
The Conservation Services Programme, administered by DOC, is legislated to undertake research to understand and address these impacts and to recover the costs of these "conservation services" from the commercial fishing sector.
The draft Conservation Services Programme Annual Plan 2018/19 describes those services proposed to be delivered as conservation services during the 2018/19 financial year.
For a summary of the legal basis of levied work described in this Annual Plan, refer to the Conservation Services Programme Strategic Statement (PDF, 215K).
Download the draft plan
Make a submission
Email submissions to firstname.lastname@example.org by noon on 25 May 2018.
Stakeholder submissions will be used to finalise the draft Conservation Services Programme Annual Plan 2018/19. The draft plan will then be presented to the Minister of Conservation for consideration and, if agreed, approval
Conservation Services Programme
Department of Conservation
PO Box 10-420