Green lobbyists have won a battle with the Government over claims about how much of New Zealand's oceans are protected. Sage said the national report was "more transparent about the way New Zealand's marine protected areas are categorised than previous reports". They called the practice "New Zealand's biggest fishing whopper" and the BPAs "bogus protected areas". ROSA WOODS/STUFF WWF's Livia Esterhazy says marine protected areas guarantee "healthy and resilient oceans for future generations." "We commend the Government for acknowledging that only 0.4 per cent of New Zealand's marine and coastal area is truly protected inside existing Marine Protected Areas," she said.

Source: Stuff April 03, 2019 12:01 UTC