All marine mammals around New Zealand are fully protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978. The Department of Conservation administers this Act and is the Government agency responsible for marine mammal welfare in New Zealand. When marine mammal watching began in New Zealand, it was realised that regular and repeated approaches to whales and dolphins could have a detrimental impact on them. In 1990, regulations were introduced specifically for the control and management of marine mammal watching. These were reviewed in 1992.
The Marine Mammals Protection Act and its associated regulations are specifically for the protection of marine mammals. The regulations do not address other issues relating to marine mammal watching, notably the promotion of tourism, tourism quality control, people safety and the commercial viability of tourism operations. Consequently, unlike some other resource management agencies that can have conflicting responsibilities, the Department of Conservation is not required to balance commercial development against the protection of marine mammals. Nor is it embroiled in issues that are peripheral to the issue of marine mammal protection.