Taranaki kaimoana protection plan to be revealed
Organisers of the kaimoana rāhui along the western Taranaki coast will reveal a plan for enforceable hapū reserves to the community this weekend.
The combined hapū of Taranaki iwi want the current temporary prohibition on collecting shellfish replaced with mātaitai reserves, which allow legal regulation by mana whenua of particular reefs, spawning grounds and the like.
The rāhui (customary closed season) on shellfish began five years ago, when Orimupiko marae placed the first rāhui around Ōpunakē.
Rāhui spread north along 70km of depleted coastline and have been backed by a temporary official prohibition under the Fisheries Act since December 2022.
Ngā Mahanga hapū representative on the rāhui steering committee, Fraser Geary, said a community and hapū meeting on Sunday would present a draft mātaitai proposal.
The presentation won’t yet include specific details about mātaitai locations and rules.
“We don’t have draft bylaws at this stage,” Geary said.
The meeting aimed to get a mandate to finalise the mātaitai proposal.
It would then be up for community approval in six weeks, before an application was made to the fisheries minister.
Sunday’s meeting would also discuss a Kāhui Mātaitai – a community-wide group with input to the final mātaitai rules.
“It’s figuring out how hapū are going to be represented on that body and how the local community's going to be represented on it, the fishing clubs, the commercial fisheries.
“We're looking at how can we put together a group that can monitor the coastline, the takutai moana, and also come up with recommendations for what could be bylaws.”
Organisers including kaumatua Mahara Okeroa have been clear for months that hapū cannot protect the coast alone and Geary said they have to consult the wider community anyway.
“Why wait for that to happen? Build that relationship, bring them in, so that they can make input at the earliest possible stages.”
Sunday’s meeting at Ōāonui Hall is the fifth community meeting since May, running parallel with hapū meetings.
“Because there's some valuable knowledge and stuff out there, and we can't protect this takutai and the moana just on our own”
He said everyone had a common interest in looking after the coast.
“We've all got a stake in this.
“Everyone wants a future for their tamariki and moko, and it doesn't matter what your background is – everyone feels that.”
Mātaitai reserves will not be in place before the Fisheries Act ban expires in December, so hapū have applied for an extension of up to two years.
The ban under section 186A of the Fisheries Act covers all species of shellfish, anemones, conger eels and seaweed (except beach cast).
It extends two nautical miles offshore, covering some 300 square kilometres, with fines of up to $5000, or up to $100,000 if kaimoana is taken for sale.
Geary estimated at least 100 submissions were made in favour of extending the ban, although it was likely to be overtaken by new mātaitai reserves before expiring at the end of 2028.
Sunday’s hapū and community meeting begins at 11am on at Ōāonui Hall.
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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