Reserves Act 1977

Classification and management of reserves - Particular powers of Minister and administering body

59: Powers in respect of scientific reserves

You could also call this:

"Rules for visiting and managing special scientific areas to protect them"

If you want to visit a scientific reserve, you might need a permit. The Minister can give permits to people who want to study the reserve or help manage it. You will need to have the right qualifications to get a permit. The Minister will decide what conditions you must follow when you visit the reserve.

The people in charge of a scientific reserve can appoint staff to help manage it. They can also build things like buildings if they are necessary for the reserve. However, they cannot build anything on the reserve if it can be built nearby instead.

In some cases, the Minister or the people in charge of the reserve can stop boats from anchoring near the shore. They will put a notice in the Gazette to let people know. You can still anchor your boat if you have a permit. The Minister or the people in charge of the reserve can give you a permit if you follow the conditions they set.

The people in charge of the reserve must talk to other groups, like the Minister of Fisheries, before they can stop boats from anchoring. They must also consider what the public thinks before making any decisions. If you are sailing or in an emergency, you can still anchor your boat even if there is a notice stopping you.

The Minister or the people in charge of the reserve must follow the conservation plan for the area when making decisions. If they want to make changes, they must tell the public and consider their thoughts. You can find more information about the rules for scientific reserves in the Reserves Act 1977 and the Marine Reserves Act 1971.

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This page was last updated on 18 September 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM444755.

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationTransport and travel > Boating

58A: Leasing powers in respect of historic reserves, or

"Rules for leasing parts of special historic sites in New Zealand"

59A: Granting of concessions on reserves administered by Crown, or

"Using Crown land for a special purpose, like building or business, with the Minister's permission"

Part 3Classification and management of reserves
Particular powers of Minister and administering body

59Powers in respect of scientific reserves

Where the Minister has issued a notice under section 21(2)(b) prohibiting entry to a scientific reserve or to any part of such a reserve, he or she may from time to time authorise the administering body, or the Commissioner where there is no administering body, to issue to any person who in the opinion of the administering body or the Commissioner, as the case may be, has the necessary credentials or qualifications a permit affording access to the reserve or to that part for scientific study or for control and management purposes, upon such terms and conditions as the administering body or the Commissioner, as the case may be, may determine.
The administering body of a scientific reserve may from time to time, in the exercise of its functions under section 40 and to the extent necessary to give effect to the principles set out in section 21,—
appoint officers, servants, and rangers, whether paid or unpaid:
do such other things, including the erection of buildings, as may be necessary or desirable for the proper and beneficial management, control, and administration of the reserve:provided that the administering body shall not erect any building on the reserve unless it cannot readily be provided outside and in close proximity to the reserve.

The Minister or the administering body of any scientific reserve authorised by the Minister may, where he or she considers it necessary for the purposes specified in section 21(1), by notice in the Gazette, prohibit the anchoring or mooring of boats within a specified area not more than half a nautical mile of the shore of any island that is wholly or principally a scientific reserve, otherwise than in accordance with a permit granted under subsection (7).
No notice given under subsection (3) shall specify any area that is within a marine reserve constituted under the Marine Reserves Act 1971.
The Minister or the administering body, as the case may be, shall not give any notice under subsection (3) without the consent of the Minister of Fisheries given after consultation with an organisation considered by the Minister of Fisheries to be representative of the classes of persons having an interest in the giving of the notice, the consent of the Minister of Transport, and, where the area proposed to be specified in the notice is within the limits of any harbour, the consent of the appropriate harbour board.
Nothing in any notice given under subsection (3) shall affect any right of navigation or apply in an emergency.
Where any notice has been given under subsection (3), the Minister or the administering body, as the case may be, may issue permits allowing any person to anchor or moor a specified vessel or any vessel within any area to which the notice relates, subject to any conditions that are specified in the permit.
Where the giving of any notice under subsection (3) is not in conformity with and contemplated by the approved conservation management strategy, conservation management plan, or management plan for the reserve, the Minister or the administering body, as the case may be, shall give public notice in accordance with section 119 of the proposal to give the notice, and shall give full consideration to all objections and submissions received pursuant to section 120 in relation to the proposal.

Notes

Section 59(3): inserted, on 27 December 1983, by section 8 of the Reserves Amendment Act 1983 (1983 No 43).
Section 59(4): inserted, on 27 December 1983, by section 8 of the Reserves Amendment Act 1983 (1983 No 43).
Section 59(5): inserted, on 27 December 1983, by section 8 of the Reserves Amendment Act 1983 (1983 No 43).
Section 59(5): amended, on 1 October 2002, by section 5(3) of the Fishing Industry Board Repeal Act 2001 (2001 No 34).
Section 59(6): inserted, on 27 December 1983, by section 8 of the Reserves Amendment Act 1983 (1983 No 43).
Section 59(7): inserted, on 27 December 1983, by section 8 of the Reserves Amendment Act 1983 (1983 No 43).
Section 59(8): inserted, on 27 December 1983, by section 8 of the Reserves Amendment Act 1983 (1983 No 43).
Section 59(8): amended, on 10 April 1990, by section 102 of the Conservation Law Reform Act 1990 (1990 No 31).