A Banks Peninsula hapū is working with the regional council to protect tāonga species, including hoiho, from a diesel and oil spill near a marine reserve close to the peninsula.
The spill is coming from a fishing boat which crashed into the rocks and ran aground at Shell Bay on Sunday night.
The 25-metre-long Austro Carina has thousands of litres of diesel onboard.
The crew is safe but the boat is not - most of it is under the water and is unlikely to be recovered.
The area is home to protected species such as kororā/little blue penguin, hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin, kekeno/NZ fur seal, upokohue/Hector's dolphins, and several other seabird species.
Te Rūnaka o Koukourarata chair Mananui Ramsden spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
