Brief synthesisThe New Zealand Sub-antarctic Islands (NZSAI) encompasses five island groups that lie between latitudes 47o and 53o south; Snares Islands/Tini Heke, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands/Motu Maha and Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku and the islands surrounding it. With their geographical isolation from mainland New Zealand and from each other, the NZSAI include some of the world’s most unmodified islands. These protection measures significantly enhance the integrity of the islands' marine environments, and complement the protection afforded to the islands themselves. A Regional Coastal Plan for the Sub-antarctic and Kermadec Islands (Coastal Plan) was notified on 15 January 2011. New Zealand authorities plan to eventually remove all alien mammal species from the islands and once achieved this will provide a model for oceanic islands elsewhere.