Two tourist hot spots, Punakaiki and Okarito, and two remote sites, Kahurangi and Gorge River, have finally been decided as sites for the first marine reserves off the West Coast.
After years of debate, often in private, the West Coast Marine Forum reached agreement late yesterday.
A sub-committee will now draw up a formal proposal to go before the ministers of conservation and fisheries by the end of March - almost five years after the group was formed by the former Labour government.
Chairman Bruce Hamilton, of Westport, said the ministers would be presented with options.
"We have made changes in response to the (public) submissions received. It's an integrated package and we've achieved a good outcome."
Further details will be posted on the forum's website later this week. However, key points were released to the Greymouth Star today.
Mr Hamilton said the location of the sites was similar to the original consultation document, with reserves or partial reserves at Kahurangi, north of Karamea, Punakaiki, Okarito and Gorge River, south of Jackson Bay.
The ministers will be given two options for the Kahurangi, Okarito and Gorge River sites, and three options for Punakaiki.
The options recognised the divergent views of submitters and provided for opportunities to minimise the effects on all users, including commercial stakeholders, Mr Hamilton said.
The forum could not come to a consensus on the educational/showcase sites that had been suggested.
However, the majority of members agreed to include them in the recommendations, separate from the main package that the ministers will need to consider.
It has recommended that the Tauranga Bay site be moved northward to Siberia Bay to exclude Wall Island in response to public feedback.
The sites at Mahinapua Creek, Ship Creek and Hapuka Estuary remain unchanged. The Jackson Head site has been amended slightly.
Although forum membership ranged from conservationists to fishermen, Mr Hamilton said its members had "grown to respect each other's points of view".
"The process has also consolidated a lot of knowledge on the [marine] area."
