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Port Levy/Koukourārata

Port Levy/Koukourārata is a coastal embayment on the eastern side of Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, with 45 ha of intertidal mudflats that are submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide.

The main pressures on the health of Port Levy/Koukourārata are sediment and nutrient run-off from rural land use.

The benthic communities in Port Levy/Koukourārata are in 'poor' health.

Shore, sea and wading birds, including several native at-risk species, use the estuary and adjacent shore to feed, roost, and nest. It’s also an important spawning ground for sand flounder/pātiki.

There is a marae at Port Levy/Koukourārata, and the area has significant cultural importance to mana whenua who manage all non-commercial fishing in the bay through its designation as a mātaitai reserve.

Estuary summary

What makes my estuary unique?

Explore the characteristics of this estuary

Overview

Estuary characteristics

  • Significant features
    • Forms part of the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary (14,310 km2  total), created to protect the endangered Hector’s dolphin/tūpoupou, one of the world’s rarest and smallest dolphins.
    • Designated as a mātaitai reserve, which recognises and provides for traditional fishing through management by mana whenua.
    • Spawning site of sand flounder/pātiki, and habitat for at-risk species of native wading birds.
    • In the mid-19th century Port Levy/Koukourārata was the largest Māori settlement in Canterbury with a population of about 400 people.
  • Total area
    45 hectares
  • Total shoreline length
    6.5 km
  • Key rivers
    • Owhetoro Stream
    • Te Kawa Stream

Highlighted reports

These links are from your regional councils and unitary authorities and provide additional information about this estuary

Related factsheets

For more details on particular topics see these factsheets

Understanding estuaries Estuary types

Department of Conservation

Want to connect with restoration groups or explore your local estuary? You can find more information on the DOC’s interactive maps.

Restoring estuaries map Experiencing estuaries map

What's happening upstream?

See results from monitored river quality sites influencing this estuary

River quality

What's happening upstream?

The physical characteristics and health of estuaries are influenced by the rivers and streams flowing into them. For instance, when it rains the mud and contaminants generated on land can be washed into rivers and eventually flow into the estuary. The health of our rivers and streams can therefore be very important for Estuary Health, and understanding the upstream pressures can help with interpreting estuary monitoring data.

Monitoring is undertaken for a range of river health indicators (e.g., water quality and ecology) in many catchments across the region. Where there are monitored river catchments that influence this estuary, these are shown below. You can click through to view monitoring results from these River Quality sites to see current state and how health has changed over time.

Port Levy/Koukourārata

1 site

What surrounds my estuary?

See land cover information from monitored catchments that surround this estuary

Land cover

What surrounds my estuary?

The physical characteristics and health of estuaries are influenced by local geography and the way we use our land. This is because estuaries are the receiving environments for many of our land use activities. Land cover information can be used as an indicator of land use, therefore knowing the surrounding land cover can help us understand which pressures might be affecting Estuary Health.

Where there is land cover information available for nearby catchments, these are listed below. These figures show the types of vegetation and built or natural features that surround the estuary margins and the rivers that flow into this estuary. You can click through to the Land Cover topic to see these land cover classes broken down into further detail, and view changes over time.

Port Levy/Koukourārata

What do the Broad Land Cover Classes mean?

Land cover information on LAWA is grouped into land cover classes at two levels of detail – broad and medium. For this overview we are showing the six broad-level classes for the catchment.

  • Forest

    Inclusive of; indigenous and exotic forest.

  • Scrub / shrubland

    Inclusive of; indigenous and exotic scrub / shrubland.

  • Grassland / other herbaceous vegetation

    Inclusive of; tussock and exotic grassland and other herbaceous vegetation.

  • Cropland

    Inclusive of; cropping / horticulture.

  • Urban / bare / lightly-vegetated surfaces

    Inclusive of; natural bare/lightly-vegetated and artificial bare surfaces, and urban area

  • Water bodies

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