Minister celebrates 10 years of Fiordland Marine Guardians

Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the Fiordland Marine Guardians at a dinner with the Guardians in Invercargill last night.

“I am delighted to celebrate more than a decade of achievement by the Fiordland Marine Guardians, who have achieved a lot since the Fiordland Marine Management Act was enacted in 2005. They have much to be proud of. Last night was an opportunity to congratulate all the Fiordland Marine Guardians, past and present, for reaching this significant milestone and to thank them for their hard work and commitment over the years,” Dr Smith says.

The Fiordland Marine Guardians were one of the first groups in New Zealand to use the collaborative process, and included representatives from stakeholder groups including commercial and recreational fishers, charter boat and tourism operators, environmentalists, marine scientists, community representatives and tangata whenua (Ngāi Tahu).

“The Guardians, and other groups such as the Land and Water Forum, have shown that collaboration is a very effective way of achieving better, more enduring results for our environment. The collaborative process has helped many groups across New Zealand reach long-term and balanced solutions,” Dr Smith says.

“The Fiordland Marine Guardians, over the past 10 years, have provided expert advice on local environmental issues such as environmental monitoring, biosecurity, communications and fisheries compliance. The Guardians have helped to stop the spread of pests in the local marine environment, as well as carrying out work to educate the community and share their experiences of how working collaboratively can achieve great results for the environment.

“One of the challenges for the better management of New Zealand’s oceans is a lack of information on the marine environment. The monitoring programme of the local Fiordland marine environment has given us a much better understanding of marine species and pests in the Fiordland areas,” Dr Smith says.