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New Zealand's first marine reserve and one of the world's first marine reserves that had a no take policy was established in 1975. It is the Cape Rodney - Okakari Point Marine Reserve. We now have twenty-eight established marine reserves in New Zealand waters. Over half of these marine reserves were external applications lodged by interest groups including Tangata Whenua, fishers, divers, conservation groups, and marine science interest groups. These reserves protect 7.6% of New Zealand's territorial sea collectively. 99% of these are in two marine reserves around isolated offshore island groups being the Auckland and Kermadec islands. Only 0.3% is protected in marine reserves of New Zealand's total marine environment.
The highest level of protection outside of our Territorial Sea is through fisheries closures on trawling for 18 seamounts having the inclusion of these closures brings the area of marine protection in New Zealand's marine environment to just over 3% | 
