Our role
The management of the coastal environment is made more complex by the array of agencies and organisations, with responsibilities to protect and manage our coastal resources. Northland Regional Council has responsibilities under the Resource Management Act, to manage certain activities in the coastal marine area and some activities on the land that might affect coastal water quality. Council must also ‘give effect’ to the New Zealand coastal policy statement, which guides Councils on how to manage the coastal Environment.
Council’s Maritime team also has responsibilities under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 and the Marine Management (Marine Pollution) Regulations 1998. Other local and central government organisations, such as the Department of Conservation (DoC), the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) and our three district councils also play important roles in managing our coastal environment.
Planning
Council manages activities in the coastal marine area through policies and rules in the Regional Plan.
Protecting rāhui tapu marine protected areas in partnership with local hapū and warranted officer surveillance patrols.
Consents
Activities in the coast such as structures, marinas and aquaculture often need a resource consent. Council is responsible for assessing resource consents for these activities and monitoring any consents it grants. Find out more about consents here:
Resource consents are issued for marina development and coastal structures including sea walls.
Monitoring
Understanding the health of our coastal environment is vital if we are going to manage these resources responsibly. Council also undertakes compliance monitoring of activities consented by any resource consents, such as discharges, marinas, marine farms to ensure these activities are complying with the conditions of their consents.
New flip farming systems for growing oysters are replacing traditional wooden post and rail systems.
Maritime / Harbourmaster
Our Maritime team’s job is to keep Northland’s harbours, lakes and coastline safe for everyone to enjoy. We encourage safe boating behaviour, set rules for protecting the marine environment, and much more.
The harbourmasters office responds to maritime incidents including boat fires, oil spills and derelict or sunken vessels.
Coastcare
Council supports local communities to get involved with the management and protection of our coast through Coastcare. A major part of Coastcare groups is to help restore sand dunes by replanting native sand binding plants. Restoring and enhancing the sand dunes ensures that the natural character of the coast is retained, biodiversity is enhanced and helps prevent coastal erosion. Find out more about Coastcare:
Volunteers play an important role in the management and protection of our coast.