Estuaries
Healthy estuaries are productive and diverse environments, home to a wide range of birds, fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Council is systematically studying the health of the main estuaries in the Sounds.
Since 2011, monitoring has occurred in Wairau River Estuary, Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui, Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere, Croisilles Harbour and D'Urville Island/Rangitoto Ki Te Tonga.
Most of our estuaries are in good condition, with seagrass beds and saltmarsh meadows providing habitat and essential ecological functions.
Seagrass has declined in some estuaries in the inner Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere due to mud build up from poor catchment land practices causing topsoil loss.
To find out more email Council's Coastal Scientist
For more information on estuary research and monitoring throughout the country, visit the Department of Conservation's estuaries hub.
Havelock Estuary Reports
- Havelock broad scale monitoring 2019 (PDF, 8.4MB)
- Havelock fine scale monitoring 2019 (PDF, 4.5MB)
- Havelock fine scale monitoring 2017 (PDF, 1.1MB)
- Sediment health and characteristics 2015 (PDF, 1.6MB)
- Habitat and vegetation mapping 2014 (PDF, 3.8MB)
- Sediment health and characteristics 2014 (PDF, 2.9MB)
- Ecological report on estuary 2000 (PDF, 6.1MB)
Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere reports
- Broughton Bay and Ohinetaha Bay Broad Scale Habitat Mapping 2020 (PDF, 34.9MB)
- Crail Bay (Elie Bay and Wet Inlet) Broad Scale Habitat Mapping 2020 (PDF, 16.2MB)
- Kaiuma Estuary Broad Scale Habitat Mapping (PDF, 3MB)
- Kenepuru Estuary Broad Scale Habitat Mapping 2017 (PDF, 4.1MB)
- Mahakipawa Estuary Fine-Scale Monitoring and Broad-Scale Habitat Mapping 2017 (PDF, 4MB)
- Tennyson Inlet (Duncan, Harvey and Tuna Bays) Broad Scale Habitat Mapping (PDF, 3.1MB)
Queen Charlotte Sound/Totaranui reports
- Ahuriri Bay Broad Scale Habitat Mapping 2020 (PDF, 9.7MB)
- Grove Arm (Ngakuta and Okiwa Bays) Estuary Survey 2012 (PDF, 1.5MB)
- Grove Arm (Ngakuta and Okiwi Bays) Broad Scale Habitat Mapping 2018 (PDF, 3.9MB)
- Shakespeare Bay Estuary Habitat and Sediment Survey 2016 (PDF, 3.4MB)
- Waikawa Estuary Broad Scale Habitat Mapping 2016 (PDF, 2.9MB)
- Waikawa Estuary Fine Scale Sediment Survey 2016 (PDF, 2.3MB)
- Whatamango Estuary Broad Scale survey 2018 (PDF, 2.8MB)
Marlborough District Council recently commissioned a review of our estuarine monitoring programme. This review has taken overview of the monitoring programme as a whole and makes recommendations about modifications to the programme in future to make it better fit for purpose.
