an isolated refuge
Tohorā found refuge in the Auckland Islands Maungahuka while around mainland Aotearoa New Zealand whaling wiped them out. Today, the Port Ross region is still the only nursery area for tohorā in Aotearoa New Zealand waters, and the whales have been protected by a moratorium on tourism since 2002.
internationally recognised as important
The Auckland Islands Maungahuka is a world heritage site due to its amazing, and often endemic, flora and fauna. Tohorā and New Zealand sealions that breed here are protected by a Marine Mammal Sanctuary, and together with Campbell Island Motu Ihupuku, the subantarctic islands are an internationally recognised IUCN Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA).