A Ngai Tahu environment advisor for heritage, Helen Brown, says Maori artefacts are being lost by coastal erosion of archaeological sites.
Ms Brown's main role is to support its papatipu runanga (local branches) with recommendations on what to do when they discover taonga tuturu (artefacts).
They include objects and tools made out of pounamu and stone.
She says most taonga are found in archaeological digs, but many are also uncovered through natural processes such as tidal movements, or the shifting of sand dune systems.
However, Ms Brown says coastal erosion in recent years has become a major factor in the damage to and loss of archaeological sites along the coast.
She says taonga tuturu are often associated with those sites and lost too.