Local advice call for Taranaki kaimoana reserves
Rāhui organisers on the western Taranaki coast are proposing a unique local advisory group to help shape future kaimoana reserves.
The advice group – Kāhui Mātaitai – would bring knowledgeable locals from across coastal Taranaki to advise on bylaws for mātaitai reserves.
Mātaitai reserves allow mana whenua to draft bylaws to protect specific ocean areas, such as a particular reef, for approval by the fisheries minister.
Before the current temporary legal ban on shellfish collecting expires, the collective hapū of Taranaki iwi are aiming to create a network of mātaitai.
A public meeting on Sunday heard the proposed Kāhui Mātaitai would maintain input from local groups already involved with the rāhui, which extends from New Plymouth to Ōpunakē.
Organisers suggested a group of at least 14:
six from hapū of Taranaki iwi;
two from boat clubs;
two coastal community representatives;
one from commercial fishers;
a scientific advisor;
a rangatahi representative;
and one from the iwi agency Te Kāhui o Taranaki.
Mātaitai and relationship plan developer, Indiana Shewen, told Sunday’s hui the Kāhui Mātaitai was a new structure developed locally.
“What we are proposing is … a group of subject matter experts … and they share all of the knowledge and data that they have, and that's packaged up and given to tangata kaitiaki so [they can make] well-informed decisions.”
Tangata kaitiaki are the hapū members who are able to propose protective bylaws to the fisheries minister.
Bylaws might cover things like bag limits, size, fishing methods, seasonal restrictions and extent of reserves.
For customary and recreational users mātaitai aren't usually no-take reserves, but commercial fishing is typically banned.
Hui organisers encouraged the crowd of about 40 to speak up, as the early draft plans would change in response to feedback.
Audience suggestions and concerns included:
transparency of the Kāhui Mātaitai;
the need for a solid basis of scientific data;
use of honorary fisheries officers to educate and enforce;
and the obligation to support people on the ground organising the rāhui and monitoring the coast.
A looming threat is the expiry of the current Fisheries Act temporary ban on shellfish in December.
Organisers were confident their application to renew the ban would be approved, given signals from Wellington.
But Te Kāhui o Taranaki board chair Jacqui King said if the temporary ban lapsed, the coast people would again stand up.
“If we're left with no other choice, that's what we need to do again, as a community. Because it will be open slather.”
King recalled the “hard yakka” of patrolling the coast before the rāhui won government backing.
“As you know, it became very confrontational, even though we'd taken a very proactive educational stance … It got really, really hard,” King said.
The Kāhui Mātaitai plan emerged from 26 pā, marae and community meetings over the past six months.
Shewen said the common ambition across all hui was to sustain relationships with the coast.
“Every person in this room has their relationship to the coast – and [it’s about] how they can
have a role in how the coast is managed, or how we maintain that relationship with our coast.”
Kaumatua Mahara Okeroa said it was “absolutely astounding” to consider how the rāhui had developed over five years.
“It's historical in the sense that we are responding to … something that is greater than ourselves: our concern about our natural environment, the taiao.”
“And I reflect on the challenges we face to be here today together collectively because it is not just, as it was once thought, a Māori issue – it is actually everyone's issue.”
An updated draft plan will be out in a month for feedback before another hui at Ōkato Domain on November 8, with the hope of lodging the mātaitai application soon after.
nā Craig Ashworth craig@tekorimako.co.nz
LDR is local body journalism hosted by Te Korimako o Taranaki and funded by Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa and Irirangi te Motu
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