Name: Spectrum of Marine Recreational Opportunities (SMARO)
Display Field: PageName
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon
Description: The data is a 2.5km square grid around the coast line of NZ where data for recreational activities exists. Grids were only created where marine activities data is available. SMARO values have been calculated and asigned into each of the 2.4km grids.The Spectrum of Marine Opportunities (SMARO) has five classes, which represent high (Class 1) through to low (Class 5) recreational use. SMARO Class 1 is dominated by coastal locations which are easily accessible, extremely popular and occur in close proximity to or on the shore. Experiences for participants are typically very social with large numbers of people, many activities, noise, and crowding. Well 62 known beaches and coastal parks are categorised in this class. Examples include beaches such as; Mission Bay and Takapuna. SMARO Class 2 is typically a near-shore area that is relatively easy to access (from vehicle parking areas, docks, boat ramps and beaches). While such areas may be crowded at times, there are opportunities to find space to undertake recreational pursuits that are difficult or unsafe to conduct in SMARO Class 1 settings. Often people move from a base in a SMARO Class 1 location (such as a crowded urban beach) to a SMARO Class 2 location (50 metres offshore or a less crowded area along-shore) which permits recreational activities like small-boat sailing, windsurfing, fishing, kite flying and so on. Examples include beaches such as North Piha or the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway. SMARO classes 3, 4 and 5 require increasing effort, experience, skill and often equipment for recreation. An offshore blue-water sailing voyage, for example, requires an ocean-going sea-worthy vessel with suitable supplies, equipment and skilled crew to ensure safe passage. One of the attributes of Class 5 experiences is the wilderness, escapism and isolation and the challenges and satisfaction derived from independence and self-sufficiency. While the SMARO model identifies general patterns of usage and typical experiences there are many activities which occur across all classes. Surfing, for example, occurs in crowded urban beach settings (Class 1) but also across all other SMARO classes including Class 5 when live-aboard off-shore vessels explore remote islands and reefs for surf-breaks and surfing opportunities. Similarly, boating, sailing and fishing are also activities which occur across all classes without being tied to any particular locations. Thus, the model is one which seeks to provide a framework for understanding general patterns of use and experiences as opposed to a definitive tool for categorising all marine recreation and tourism activities and settings. An additional factor which is universally influential with regard to marine recreation and tourism usage is weather and sea conditions. Particular activities are entirely dependent on this, for example, water-skiing and wake-boarding require relatively calm water-surface conditions, surfing however is entirely dependent on ocean swell conditions for surfable waves (which are also influenced by bottom type, wind and tidal state). While it may be self-evident that weather and sea conditions are significant variables affecting use (including seasonal influences that these factors) changes in weather forecasting accuracy and availability and the invention and use of technologies (such as wet-suits, and more robust and sea-worthy vessels) have tended to mitigate the influence of weather, sea and temperature on marine recreation and tourism.
Copyright Text: Compiled by Visitor Solutions for the Department of Conservation