Hauraki Gulf reservations

As Auckland boaters with 50 years’ experience sailing and fishing in the Hauraki Gulf, the Hampsons’ letter is a plea for all of us to take more care, exercise more personal responsibility, and to be more proactive in protecting the Hauraki Gulf.

The couple is involved in a proposal for a small inner Gulf marine reserve, which will encompass an area of shallow reef near Waiheke Island. This advocacy was probably the catalyst for the letter, but the changes they have observed in the Hauraki Gulf in their lifetime should catch our attention, nonetheless.

The Hauraki Gulf has changed in 50 years, markedly in the last century, but it can be hard to quantify by how much or in what ways. Depending on your starting point and whether