The Government will back the biggest Hauraki Gulf restoration in a generation with up to $26m in public and private investment to revive marine life, support jobs, and improve access for families across Auckland, including the Hibiscus Coast.

At the heart is the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Act, creating 19 new protected areas so reefs, kelp forests, and marine life can recover while people still enjoy the water.

Twelve are high protection areas, five protect seafloor habitats, and two extend existing marine reserves.

The Department of Conservation is allocating $10.5m over four years to stand up these new protections.

Tourism infrastructure gets a lift too.

The Government is putting $6m from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy into upgrades on Rangitoto, Tiritiri Matangi, and Kawau.

More than 150,000 people visit these islands each year, so safer wharves, better tracks, and improved water systems aim to make access easier for families, schools, and tour operators.

A major philanthropic drive led by the NEXT Foundation will add up to $20m over five years for reef restoration.

Starting with $2m for pilot projects around Little Barrier Island, the Noises, and a research programme at Motutapu with mana whenua, the University of Auckland, and the Department of Conservation.

The work focuses on clearing urchins from barren reefs to allow kelp forests to regrow, boosting biodiversity and fish stocks.

“Divers and local experts will clear urchins from damaged reefs, giving kelp a chance to regrow, and creating underwater forests that bring back fish, crayfish, and shellfish,” Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.

“Within a couple of years, those reefs will be teeming with life again, real results for our moana and for the people who depend on it.”

The plan builds on recent private efforts to seed millions of shellfish in the Gulf and on prior IVL spending of $8.5m at hotspots such as Cathedral Cove and Goat Island, plus $1.5m for weed control on pest-free islands.

Officials say the Gulf contributes more than $5b a year to the economy, so restoring it is both an environmental and local livelihoods win for communities from the North Shore to the Hibiscus Coast.

Know something local worth sharing?

Send it to [email protected] — we’ll help spread the word.