Your views sought
Ngāti Kuia has applied for a mātaitai reserve covering the waters of Guards Bay in the outer Marlborough Sounds. The proposed area includes all South Island fisheries waters lying between Forsyth Island (Te Paruparu) and Alligator Head with an offshore boundary north of Titi Island and including Anakoha Bay and Titirangi Bay.
Ngāti Kuia and Fisheries New Zealand invite submissions on the proposal and will hold a local community meeting to discuss the application.
This is the first of 2 consultations to be held about the application.
What area is being proposed?
The proposed area includes approximately 56.6 square kilometres of South Island fisheries waters within the following lines:
- starting at a point on the mean high-water mark at Culdaff Point at 40°56.387’S and 174°04.834’E; then
- proceeding in a straight line in an easterly direction for approximately 4km to a point offshore at 40°56.189’S and 174°07.696’E; then
- proceeding in a straight line in a south-easterly direction for approximately 2.4km to a point offshore at 40°56.824’S and 174°09.202’E; then
- proceeding in a straight line in a southerly direction for approximately 2.4km to a point on the mean high-water mark located approximately 250m east of Alligator Head at 40°58.096’S and 174°09.573’E; then
- following the mean high-water mark in a generally south-westerly direction to a point on the south side of Allen Strait/Guard Pass at 40°59.780’S and 174°03.923’E; then
- proceeding in straight line in a north-westerly direction for 284m to a point on the mean high-water mark on the north side of Allen Strait/Guard Pass at 40°59.682’S and 174°03.767’E; then
- proceeding in a generally northerly direction along the mean high-water mark to the starting point.
Consultation documents
Map of the proposed mātaitai reserve [PDF, 1.5 MB]
Application for proposed mātaitai reserve [PDF, 13 MB]
Making your submission
The local community are invited to make a written submission on the application. Submissions close at 5pm on Monday 20 April 2026.
Email your submission to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
While we prefer email, you can post your submission to:
Fisheries management – Spatial Allocations
Fisheries New Zealand
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.
Public notices about this consultation
Public notices calling for submissions are scheduled to appear in Nelson Mail and Marlborough Express on Monday 2 March 2026 and Wednesday 11 March 2026.
Public meeting planned
A meeting with the local community will be held to discuss the application. A further notice will be published in both the Nelson Mail and Marlborough Express, and on this website, advertising the time, date and venue for this meeting.
A second consultation is planned
After the local community consultation period has closed, Fisheries New Zealand will hold a second consultation. This will invite written submissions from people who take fish, aquatic life, or seaweed or own quota, and whose ability to take fish, aquatic life, or seaweed or whose ownership interest in quota may be affected by the proposed mātaitai reserve.
The second consultation will be advertised in the same newspapers and on this website.
About mātaitai reserves
A mātaitai reserve is an identified traditional fishing ground where tangata whenua have a special relationship. Mātaitai reserves are limited to fisheries waters and do not include any land area. Mātaitai reserves do not change any existing arrangements for access to private land.
Mātaitai reserves do not affect private landowners’ land titles or their ability to exercise resource consents for such things as taking water or extracting gravel or sand. Resource consents are managed under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Find out more about mātaitai reserves
Fisheries (South Island Customary Fishing) Regulations 1999 – NZ Legislation
Recreational fishing
Mātaitai reserves do not change the recreational fishing rules. However, the tangata tiaki/kaitiaki for a mātaitai reserve may propose changes to the rules at a later date. These are called mātaitai reserve bylaws. Any proposed bylaws will be consulted on separately with the public and relevant stakeholders. They need to be approved by the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries.
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is generally prohibited in a mātaitai reserve, and the applicants have not sought any conditions to enable specified commercial fishing activities to continue in the area if it becomes a mātaitai reserve.
