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Taiao - Uwhia te huhi: Protecting the wellbeing of our taiao, our mounga, awa, moana and whenua.
Rāhui and Section 186A: Safeguarding the takutai moana
Hapū along 70km of the Taranaki takutai are considering their next steps as the Government’s two-year ban on collecting mātaitai nears the halfway mark.
The ban using Section 186a of the Fisheries Act was put in place on December 16, following a request by hapū shocked at “relentless plundering” of mātaitai –especially pāua – by visitors in their hundreds.
Parihaka kaumātua Mahara Okeroa and Te Kāhui o Taranaki chair Jacqui King applied to the Oceans and Fisheries Minister for the temporary closure, seeking legal backing for a rāhui placed in January last year by hapū of Taranaki Iwi.
Covering from Rawa o Turi in the south to Paritutu in the north, the rāhui places temporary restrictions on that specified area to preserve and protect taonga species from overfishing and give the marine ecosystem time to recover and regenerate.
The Section 186a temporary closure gives legal effect to the rāhui and enables Fishery Officers to enforce the prohibition on taking all species of shellfish, anemones, octopus, conger eels and seaweed, except beach cast. Kōura are included under the rāhui but currently not the legal ban.
Legal closure was sought following clashes between those breaching the rāhui and volunteers monitoring behaviour.
The legal notice covers about 300sq km from the Herekawe Stream near Paritutu to the Taungātara Stream south of Ōpunakē, and two nautical miles offshore, with fines of up to $5000 or up to $100,000 if mātaitai is taken for sale.
Mahara says legal enforcement is critical to ending unethical harvesting by visitors stripping reefs that had been protected for generations by traditional practices.
“They take anything and everything that clings to rock. If it moves, they take it. There’s a deeply held concern not only by Māori but the wider community as well about the imbalance in our ecosystem and the gradual disappearance of species of kai.”
He hopes a long-term protection plan can be put in place such as a mātaitai reserve to support hapū and marae pā kaitiaki to manage fisheries resources sustainably. The work to achieve that is urgent, he says.
“We worked really hard to get legal backing for the rāhui, we advocated strongly and really pushed it. It took a hell of a lot of effort and time.”
“We’re on a deadline. The Section 186a expires on 15 December 2024. There is the possibility of an extension but if we can’t get to where we want to be, it would revert to the situation that existed before the rāhui.”
“That’s disconcerting. All our coastlines are under threat, open to relentless plunder and the breaching of our tikanga. We want to retain the quantity and quality of the kai just like it was when our old people practised customary ways to ensure replenishment of the kai.”
A four-person Takutai Team and programme was put in place this year by Te Kāhui o Taranaki to support the rāhui and use of Section 186a.
Co-ordinated by Lisa Ison, who helped kaumātua lead out and monitor the rāhui in its early days, the Takutai Team advocates for sustainable fishing practices, fosters community collaboration, and through outreach programmes empowers younger generations to develop a strong sense of kaitiakitanga over their coastal heritage.
Working with marine biologists and scientists, the team has also started surveying kaimoana stocks to gather baseline information in preparation for ongoing monitoring.
“It’s going to be something that keeps having to be monitored given the pressures coming into this space, including climate change,” Lisa says.
“Moving forward, we are going to have to be kaitiaki in so many different places that we never thought we’d need to be.”
“We don’t want our tamariki, our mokopuna and our mokomokopuna to be sitting at the end of Arawhata Rd having to monitor poachers.”
The team has held wānanga with hapū on customary rights and marine protection tools available to Māori.
“We’re waiting to hear back as to what hapū want to do to support kaitiakitanga in the future.”
“That was quite empowering. It showed pride, the huge positive impact of a shared identity and that our people want to represent themselves as Taranaki Iwi.”
Taiao Team updates
Pou Taiao
Ngāwai Terry has been appointed Pou Taiao, filling a long-term vacancy. The work focuses on policy and engagement between local and central government and hapū and iwi on Taiao matters, as well as managing the large Taiao team.
Ngāwai says demands on iwi, including consenting processes, reforms, new legislation and policy, mean the Taiao space will remain a critical area for Taranaki Iwi, underscoring the importance of enabling hapū in expanded kaitiakitanga roles.
Pou Whirinaki
Carl Owen has been welcomed to the Pou Whirinaki planning and resource consents role. The work focuses primarily on engaging with hapū around resource consenting processes, and also utilises Carl’s experience and knowledge in awa monitoring, rāhui, takutai and sites of significance, including Reserve Management Plan sites.
Jobs for Nature
The team is almost halfway through the Jobs for Nature programme. Having met many of the funding targets in the first few months, including completing a significant planting programme, future work will be additional to the requirements of the funding. A major initiative has been establishing the nursery at Pungarehu, with 90% of plants eco-sourced from the rohe and with whakapapa to Taranaki Iwi.
GIS monitoring
Taipuni Ruakere, one of the original Toa Taiao team of four, has taken up the new role of GIS technician. Having almost completed his GIS qualifications, Taipuni will now focus fulltime on GIS mapping and information services, including gathering and interpreting data in maps and overlays to provide visual information on sites of significance, awa and takutai monitoring and surveys, erosion and other areas.
