‘Peking duck in the barnacle pool’: Shane Jones orders two-year harvesting ban
Sunday, 15 February 2026
The Government will introduce a two-year ban on collecting kaimoana from rock pools along Auckland’s east coast, aiming to crack down on “turbo-charged foraging” while keeping beaches open to the public.
The move targets three biodiversity hotspots from Cape Rodney to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, where residents have reported visitors using buckets and even piano wire to strip sea cucumbers, starfish, anemones, limpets, and small crabs to localised extinction.
Last year, local iwi Ngāti Manuhiri requested a ban to allow marine life to recover.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones said he needed to balance both tikanga and public use. “The most egregious cases are around the rock pools,” he said. “We need to deploy the state’s power to uphold obligations to iwi. At the same time, ordinary Kiwis taking a spade or a plastic bucket with their kids to gather a feed of pipi should still enjoy the beach.”
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Jones said he is also looking to beef up the powers of fisheries officers.
But he said that alone won’t solve the problem. As Auckland’s population changes, he believes attitudes toward kaimoana need to shift as well.
“It’s not about turning this into a hate session on new migrants,” he said. “But we do have to spread information within ethnic communities that mass harvesting in fragile intertidal zones is going to offend the host community and damage the environment.
“No part of our environment is going to sustain massive infusions of harvesters and foragers, irrespective of what ethnic group they belong to,” he said.
“Society has to reset how we relate to our marine environment.”
Part of that reset, he says, will involve working with community leaders and social media influencers to ensure newcomers understand local rules and norms, including why certain species are no longer commonly eaten or harvested in New Zealand.
“It’s definitely an education thing,” he said. “But I suspect it takes a fair bit of organisation to get busloads of people to remote rock pool areas. Someone behind the scenes is planning and co-ordinating the invasion of the Peking duck into the barnacle pool.
“They mustn’t be allowed to get away [with that].”
He confirmed officials are looking at expanding infringement powers for fisheries officers as part of upcoming fisheries reforms, allowing a more graduated enforcement response.
Currently, fewer than 20 salaried fisheries officers cover hundreds of kilometres of Auckland coastline.
“The options our officers currently have are pretty limited,” he said. “We need to expand those tools and trust in their professionalism about when and how to use them.”
At the same time, he wants more formal recognition for community guardians. Local volunteers, including honorary fisheries officers, could play a larger role under a reformed system.
“The more we can have recognised community wardens, as opposed to self-appointed vigilantes, the better,” Jones said.
A briefing paper to Jones from Fisheries New Zealand, seen by the Sunday Star-Times, notes that many sandy stretches on the coast do not face the same intensive harvesting pressures as rocky reef environments.
The ban will apply strictly to rocky intertidal zones where rockpool sea life has been decimated. That includes:
Zone 1: The coastline between Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve and Tāwharanui Marine Reserve.
Zone 2: The area between Tāwharanui Marine Reserve and the Kawau Bay High Protection Area.
Zone 3: The Whangaparāoa Peninsula, specifically from the Ōrewa River to the Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve.
Starting from March 6, it will be illegal to harvest most invertebrates and seaweeds within 200 metres of the high-water mark in these three zones.
Jones said he has also introduced several “plain-speaking” exemptions to the ban.
Kina remains open for harvest, as officials have prioritised tackling “kina barrens” by allowing the removal of the urchins that strip kelp forests.
Rock lobster (or crayfish) and scallops are also excluded because they are already managed under stricter, existing closures.
Certain species of cockles and pipi in Whangateau Harbour are also excluded due to pre-existing management rules.
The order also does not restrict the public’s right to visit or swim and only prohibits the extraction of specific marine life.
Fisheries New Zealand will begin installing multilingual signage at popular access points like Army Bay and Ōkoromai Bay in early March.
Nicola MacDonald, chief executive of the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, previously told the Star-Times that the coastline has reached a “state of deprivation” due to unsustainable foraging fuelled by social media.
The closure has broad support from the community, with 840 submissions backing the move, including petitions, local boards, environmental groups, and recreational fishing organisations.
A small number of submissions opposed the closure. These included a few Pakiri whānau, who objected to the inclusion of Pakiri Beach at the southern end of the proposed area, citing their own customary rāhui and ongoing marine monitoring.
They told officials they did not want their status, authority or rights diminished or overridden by other groups.
Other submitters suggested minor boundary adjustments, such as extending the closure further south to Castor Bay and around the Devonport Peninsula.
Fisheries New Zealand decided not to incorporate these changes, noting the areas lie outside Ngāti Manuhiri’s recognised area of interest, and further consultation would be required before any expansion.
Mark Lenton, founder of the Protect Whangaparāoa Rockpools group, called the ban a long-overdue win. “It’s been 15 months since I first raised the alarm with Fisheries,” he said. “I counted 200 people around me with chisels, hammers, and buckets, just filling them up.
“I’m thrilled. We’ve gone from nothing to all of a sudden, we’ve got protection.”
Lenton described the ban as a blueprint for wider action. “This isn’t just about Auckland.
““This has to change behaviour. Otherwise the pressure just shifts somewhere else.
“It’s about changing how communities across New Zealand interact with their marine environment. Now that the east coast has a ban, pressure will build for similar protections on the west coast and beyond.”
Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust chief executive Nicola Rara-MacDonald was confident the two-year closure would significantly enable the coastline to rest and regenerate.
“It’s also been positively encouraging to see the strong community advocacy and support for our coastline. It takes a village to look after our oceans, and we have seen that commitment demonstrated by various groups including local people, communities, non-government organisations, and scientists, towards this important kaupapa.”
The Trust, as part of its formal application for a two-year prohibition, stated it will also be placing a rāhui over the same area and species. A rāhui is a traditional Māori practice that places a temporary restriction on an area to protect species and ecosystems.