Mountains to Sea
Biodiversity
Preserving the food basket
The report confirms that the Marine Park is under increasingly intense ecological pressure. Communities and mana whenua are defending pockets of reef, shoreline, and catchment, but their efforts continue to being overwhelmed by the scale of decline. The Forum is calling for a more courageous response from central and regional decision-makers.
This year’s report, the eighth since monitoring began over 25 years ago, intentionally lifts the stories of mana whenua and communities to the surface, presenting their lived experience and motivation to tackle issues impacting Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi / the Hauraki Gulf.
The report points to the achievements of people compelled to act and says if national and regional settings can match the energy and ambition already expressed locally, we may yet turn the tide for the Gulf.
This report is structured around three key pou: Ki Uta Ki Tai (Mountains to the Sea), Te Kanorau Koiora (Biodiversity), and Tiakina Te Pātaka Kai (Preserving the Food Basket), providing an integrated view of the Gulf's interconnected system:
Mountains to the Sea (Ki Uta Ki Tai): the Hauraki Gulf remains under pressure from land-based activities with sedimentation being a key concern.
Nicola Rata-MacDonald, Co-Chair (Tangata Whenua) of the Hauraki Gulf Forum highlighted the increasing incidence of climate-related extreme weather events sending torrents of polluted and sediment-filled water across Tāmaki Makaurau into our estuaries and harbours, creating new stresses on an already stressed system. The Gulf is losing its resilience under these additional threats.
“More than 2,300 drainage leaks and overflows were identified over the last three-year State of our Gulf reporting period as part of tackling ageing and badly designed infrastructure in Tāmaki. This is great progress, but over the same period, more than 3,000 new consents were given for residential and commercial buildings within 200m of the Gulf. We’re yet to fix the past and current faults, and somehow new developments are consented without assurance that we have the infrastructure to manage existing, let alone future, pressures.
“We must pull all the levers within our control to bring our infrastructure up to scratch as this is a social, environmental and economic risk,” says Ms Rata-MacDonald.
Biodiversity (Te Kanorau Koiora): biodiversity remains under stress in the marine environments, although, where predator-free islands and active management are in place, we are seeing the Hauraki Gulf’s ability to regenerate.
The Forum celebrates the return of forest birds to Gulf islands, acknowledging the leadership and actions by mana whenua and communities on pest-free projects. However, the Marine Park is the seabird capital of the world, and 86% are threatened or at risk.
Hauraki Gulf Forum Co-Chair, Cr Warren Maher says “Restoration on islands cannot substitute for restoring the broader marine environment. The arrival of marine protection legislation in 2025 came after decades of discussion and has enabled just 6% high protection in the Marine Park. Neither has this been complemented by the reduction or removal of destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling.
“Recovery happens faster for all marine biodiversity if fishing pressures are reduced. The recently shelved Fisheries Amendment Bill 2026 did nothing to advance an ecosystem-based approach to commercial fishing and the Forum stood firmly against it. The Gulf is an interconnected system and we cannot continue to approach its management and restoration in a piecemeal and tentative way,” reinforced Cr Maher.
Preserving the Food Basket (Tiakina Te Pātaka Kai): the pātaka kai (food basket) that sustained generations is under significant pressure.
Hauraki Gulf Forum Co-Chair (Tangata Whenua), Nicola Rata-MacDonald, emphasised how a breadth of marine protection options will be required to regenerate the Gulf, and the need for a more ambitious approach to reaching the Forum’s goal of 30% marine protection within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
"The health of the Gulf is inseparable from our identity and whakapapa. For tangata whenua, the obligation to care for this moana is not optional, it is a responsibility," says Ms. Rata-MacDonald.
Highlighted in the report are the many rāhui laid by mana whenua to protect taonga species such as kōura, tipa, tuangi and many other intertidal shellfish across the Gulf.
Rāhui are an important tool in the marine protection kete, alongside the legislation that came became law last year.
“Rāhui are adaptive and localised and are playing a crucial role in lifting pressure from taonga species that have been over harvested and are experiencing layers of stress from climate change effects and sedimentation.
“The necessity of integrating indigenous leadership into the statutory protection of the Gulf has never been clearer. We are continuing to move toward a model where guardianship is increasingly placed at the heart of governance," Ms Rata-MacDonald concluded.
The trajectory of the Hauraki Gulf is not yet fixed. While the 2026 report highlights tangible signs of response, the system remains under intense ecological pressure.
Looking ahead, the future health of Te Tīkapa Moana/Te Moananui-ā-Toi will depend on whether current efforts are not only sustained but significantly accelerated and aligned over the long term.
Co-Chair, Councillor Warren Maher, underscores the importance of community-led adaptation and the critical link between land use and marine health.
"As a representative for our regional communities, I see daily how the health of our rivers and streams dictates the health of our ocean," says Cr Maher.
"This is about community-led adaptation ensuring that our local land management practices directly support the restoration of our marine environment. The work ahead is significant, but we know the path forward based on strong science and mātauranga across all eight of the State of our Gulf Reports. What this year’s report calls for is greater coordination, increased pace and scale of action.
“We’ve made some good decisions recently and taken strong action, but it’s going to take a great deal more commitment and effort to get the job done – from grass roots to central government," Cr Maher adds.
The State of our Gulf report 2026 signals a new era of response, defined by emerging coordination that integrates marine protection with the urgent necessity of restoring fish stocks. While the Hauraki Gulf itself continues to decline, collective action is finally beginning to acknowledge the complexity of the challenge.
Recovery is possible, but it requires a commitment to acting at the necessary scale and pace. This demands a long-term view that transcends political and funding cycles, rooted in a shared commitment between tangata whenua, central and local government, communities, and decision-makers to work across boundaries.
The evidence is clear: the system can respond when pressures are reduced and care is consistent. Our challenge in the coming years is to ensure that our shared understanding translates into consistent, system-wide action that supports the return of mauri to the Hauraki Gulf.
Read the State of our Gulf 2026