Rules
Marine reserves are our highest level of marine protection established under the Marine Reserves Act 1971. DOC is responsible for the implementation, management and monitoring of New Zealand’s 44 marine reserves, including Kapiti Marine Reserve.
The following rules apply at all times and for all people:
- No fishing of any kind.
- Don’t take or kill marine life.
- Don’t remove or disturb any marine life or materials.
- Don’t feed fish – it disturbs their natural behaviour.
- Take care when anchoring to avoid damaging the seafloor.
If you see any suspicious activity please report this to the Department of Conservation (DOC) via emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468). For more information visit the DOC website. All calls and personal details are treated confidentially.
If you’re Deaf, hearing impaired, Deafblind or speech impaired you can use the New Zealand Relay Service (external site) to call.
You can help DOC respond effectively by providing them with the following information:
- the location
- description of the incident
- vehicle and trailer registration number
- boat name
- description of the person/s
- photographs if possible
Download this incident reporting form to help you collect this information.
When witnessing any suspected illegal activity, always put your personal safety first.
Marine Reserve Boundaries
Kāpiti marine reserve is made up of two separate protected areas – the eastern and western reserves. The boundaries can be viewed on the Department of Conservation’s Kapiti Marine reserve brochure and are also indicated in the maps below.
Fishers and boaties are responsible for ensuring that they are not fishing within the marine reserve boundaries. MarineMate is a free smartphone app available on Android and Apple devices that you can download and use to see your boats position in relation to the marine reserve boundaries in real time. We recommend you use MarineMate to help you keep track of your location in relation to the marine reserve boundaries when fishing and avoid accidentally fishing inside our awesome marine reserve.
