Proposed temporary pāua closure at Tauroa Peninsula, Northland

UPDATE: 23 September 2026

Minister's decision

Following consultation, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has imposed a temporary pāua closure at Tauroa Peninsula, Ahipara, Northland. The closure will be in effect from 15 October 2026 to 14 October 2028.

The closure area starts at the mean high-water mark near Te Huahua/Iron Gate on Tauroa Peninsula, extends 2 kilometres offshore, and then follows the coastline to a point near the Hunahuna Stream. The closure area covers approximately 32.4 square kilometres of fisheries waters.

The closure area excludes approximately 1.8 square kilometres of fisheries waters at the sandy beach near Hukatere Stream. This area was identified by Ahipara hapū and whānau during the development of the closure area and does not contain reef or pāua habitat.

Te Tauroa temporary closure map [PDF, 447 KB]

Fisheries (Te Tauroa Temporary Closure) Notice 2026 (MPI 2033) [PDF, 76 KB]

Customary fisheries management areas, rules, and maps

Background to this consultation

The Roma Marae, Ahipara Marae, hapū, and community members requested a 2-year pāua closure of this area under section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996.

Consultation opened on 10 March and submissions closed at 5pm on Friday 24 April 2026.

The proposed closure area

The proposed closure area started near Te Huahua/Iron Gate on Tauroa Peninsula, west of Ahipara, and followed the coastline to near the Hunahuna Stream. It extended from the mean high-water mark to about 2 km offshore and covered approximately 32.4 square kilometres.

The proposed area excluded approximately 1.8 square kilometres of fishery waters at the sandy beach near Hukatere Stream.

Request for closure

Application letter [PDF, 1.7 MB]

Proposed Te Tauroa pāua closure map [PDF, 449 KB]

Public notice

A public notice about the call for submissions was scheduled to appear in the Northland Age and Northern Advocate on 10 March 2026.

Related information

Section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996 allows the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries to temporarily close an area, or temporarily restrict or prohibit the use of any fishing method in respect of an area, if satisfied that the closure, restriction, or prohibition will recognise and provide for the use and management practices of tangata whenua in the exercise of non-commercial fishing rights.

Find out more about temporary closures

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