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New Zealand's ocean resources

Aotearoa/New Zealand is more than an archipelago in a remote corner of the South Pacific; it is a continent in its own right, 96% of which is submerged. This area contains rich biodiversity, fishing stocks, and mineral resources of potentially very high value.

New Zealand is now in the process of updating the regimes for the governance and management of its marine jurisdiction, which comprises the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) or Territorial Sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Extended Continental Shelf.     

These pages document or carry links to information on various aspects of this vast environment, spanning some 5 million square kilometres. Under construction.

<Mineral resources>   <Policy and legislation>   <Science and research>

Oil exploration rig off the Taranaki coast, with New Plymouth in the distance and Mt Taranaki beyond.