Restoring the Marlborough Sounds: An oceans reform case study

The Marlborough Sounds is an iconic and unique marine system, which has a long and fascinating history of Māori and European occupation, and is suffering severe and ongoing degradation. Key stressors are high levels of sedimentation, damage to seabed habitats from bottom trawling and dredging, over-harvesting of fish stocks and climate change.

Reversing this long-term degradation will require a concerted and integrated effort which includes passive marine restoration, active marine restoration and land-based efforts. All users of the Sounds will need to play their part, in a combined effort, if the current situation is to be turned around. This report, which is part of EDS’s wider oceans reform project, seeks to identify some ways in which this might be achieved.