This report describes a baseline assessment and characterisation of three beaches in Wellington Harbour undertaken in January 2018. Only the Petone Beach assessment involved a comprehensive survey approach, whereas the focus of the Lyall Bay and Owhiro Bay surveys was a cursory characterisation of beach condition. The beach fauna present at all sites was typical of semi-exposed sandy beaches and when considered alongside other sediment indicators, the beaches were deemed to be in “very good” or “good” condition.

Keywords: Petone Beach, Lyall Bay, Owhiro Bay, beach, invertebrates, intertidal, environmental monitoring