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Oceans
New Zealand administers the sixth largest marine environment in the world. At more than 4.4 million square kilometres, our marine environment is about 14 times larger than our land area.
We use our marine area for many purposes, including transportation, fisheries, recreation and tourism, and value it for its cultural and spiritual significance. The marine environment also provides several life-giving services, including providing oxygen, storing carbon and purifying wastes.
Environmental indicators
Three national environmental indicators are used to report regularly on New Zealand’s oceans as follows:
Did you know?
- More than 99 per cent of our exports are transported by sea.
- Our marine industries are worth an estimated $3.3 billion (about 3 per cent of gross domestic product), including $1.34 billion in fisheries exports.
- As much as 80 per cent of New Zealand’s plant and animal species occur in the marine environment and 44 per cent are not found anywhere else in the world.
This information has come from the latest indicator update on Marine Protected Areas and Environment New Zealand 2007.
For more information on other national marine indicators see the Ministry of Tourism’s Environmental Indicator Set for New Zealand Tourism.
Last updated: December 2008
