Seabed Mining: The Basics OPINION: Aotearoa’s marine environment is a taonga (treasure) of natural, cultural, recreational and economic importance. It underpins our marine economy, including fisheries, aquaculture and marine tourism. Our seas are 15 times New Zealand’s land area. While about 10 per cent of our land mass is protected as public conservation land, less than 0.4 per cent of our Exclusive Economic Zone is protected in no-take marine reserves. Getty Images The full extent of seabed mining's environmental impacts is uncertain, writes Eugenie Sage. Alan Eggers, from Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR), claimed in a recent opinion piece that the company has the marine and discharge consents it needs to start mining the seabed in the South Taranaki Bight. This is incorrect.