The forum had been working to a Government deadline of April 28 to deliver its final recommendations on a network of marine protected areas on the southeast coast, from Timaru to Waipapa Point in Southland.
Forum chairwoman Maree Baker-Galloway said, at a two-day meeting in Dunedin ending yesterday, members were unanimous in supporting a request to extend the delivery deadline by up to four months.
Ms Baker-Galloway said the main reason for requesting the extra time was the workload associated with the unexpected large volume of feedback - about 2800 submissions - received during the consultation period last year.
''The forum wish to do justice to all the submitters who have taken the time to provide their feedback to us, and to do that we need more time to familiarise ourselves with all of the submissions. It's fantastic that so many people have engaged with this process and every view presented deserves consideration.''
A summary of submissions, which is being prepared by an independent analyst, was expected to be finished in the next month.
Once the summary was tabled, it would be available on the forum's website.
A database of redacted submissions would also be accessible.
Information submitters indicated they did not want to be made public and the contact details of individual submitters would be withheld, she said.
