The decision on whether the wreck of the Rena will be permitted to remain on the Astrolabe Reef will be made public on Friday.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council will issue a media statement announcing the decision, a copy of the executive summary and a link to where the full decision may be accessed tomorrow at 2pm.

The Rena wreck on the reef, April 4, 2012. Photo: Maritime NZ

The panel originally hearing the resource consent application made by the Rena's owners and insurers took 20 days to assess the information, after which they reserved their decision – which is being made public tomorrow.

The Rena struck Astrolabe Reef on October 5, 2011 and subsequently broke up. Much of the wreckage near the upper reef has been cleared in the years since by ongoing salvage operations, but the bulk of the aft section of the wreck now lies in deep water at the base of the reef.

The owners and insurers have sought consent to leave the remainder where it lies because of the increasing danger to the salvage contractors operating at about 50m depth.

There is also a claim that removing the wreck will cause a great deal of damage to the reef, and the popular diving and fishing location will continue to be barred to the public.

On the eve of the decision, Forest & Bird and Nga Hapu o Motiti are now asking the government to maintain the area's exclusion zone for fishing.

An application for a two year rahui (temporary closure) of the Astrolabe Reef under the NZ Fisheries Act has been lodged on behalf of Nga Hapu o Motiti.

The area sought for rahui covers three nautical miles around a point on Astrolabe Reef, and covers an area of approximately 97km2.

Nga Hapu o Motiti spokesman Te Atarangi Sayers is urging the community to support its application.

'It would be heart breaking to see the wreck left in place, but it would be far worse to stop marine recovery by allowing the premature resumption of fishing. Even before the Rena went aground, tangata whenua had noticed the depletion of fish stocks from the area,” says Te Atarangi.

'Combining an already declining fish stock with significant pollution from oil, cargo, debris and other contaminants has put an already threatened species under even more stress.”

He says marine life is only just starting to recover and a rahui on the area would allow species and marine life to continue to heal.

But the decision whether to endorse the rahui rests with the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy, he says.

'We ask our community to make a submission in support of the temporary closure. We ask Nathan Guy to recognise our rahui with urgency.”

Forest & Bird chief executive Hone McGregor supports the rahui saying a continued exclusion zone would maintain the improvement in the marine biodiversity, and that these benefits are not lost.

Submissions on Nga Hapu o Motiti's application for temporary closure under the NZ Fisheries Act close on the March 14.

In addition to the original 20 day consent hearing, the application involved 23 technical reports, 151 submissions received in response to the application.

Lists and transcripts of all submitters, technical advisors, expert witnesses, and information presented at the hearing is available at: www.renaresourceconsent.org.nz