ENVIRONMENT WATER QUALITY
Nikau Trust owns 88 hectares (ha) that borders Lake Waikare, the most degraded and contaminated lake in the Waikato Region, due to an invasion by koi carp.
Making a game plan to improve the whenua From rugby league to research on improving water quality, Tawera Nikau is involved with multiple projects on his farm land in the Waikato. Sheryl Haitana talked to him about Maori plans for koi carp control and getting involved with the science of riparian planting. Photos by: Emma McCarthy
T
he best tomato plants Tawera Nikau’s grandmother ever grew were planted on top of fish heads. It’s that ancestral Maori knowledge that has inspired Tawera to kickstart a business harvesting koi carp out of lakes in the lower Waikato and turn it into organic fertiliser, pet food, berley and bait products. New Zealand produces high value niche products, and koi carp could be another one - as it’s a delicacy in Japan and China, Tawera says. Tawera’s family owns 88ha at Ohinewai, which borders Lake Waikare, the most degraded and contaminated lake in the Waikato Region. Tawera lives onfarm and is actively 66
involved in the management of the land and numerous restoration projects for the Lake. Tawera also chairs Riu o Waikato (The valley of the Waikato), a collective of local marae who have secured the first commercial licence to harvest koi carp on a large scale. “We have 14 lakes in the lower Waikato and they are all infected with koi carp, doing immense damage to our native species, our eels and our waterways. When you talk about pollution one of the key influences on water quality is koi carp.” They’ve got a processing facility employing six people and have two boats out fishing on Lake Waikare harvesting koi carp in nets, which will be scaled up in the next few years when the products are
tested and ready for the market. It will not only provide a solution to reducing koi carp numbers, but it’s creating jobs for their people and producing great products, Tawera says. “It meets a lot of targets, environmentally, socially and culturally. We are ticking all the boxes, eradicating koi carp, putting stuff back into the ground that needs to be there. “The lakes are all infected with koi carp and they do a lot of damage. It makes sense to help eradicate the koi carp and produce a product where there is zero waste.” Using their Mātauranga (ancestral knowledge) together with scientific evidence to create sustainable products is exciting, Tawera says.
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | June 2021
