Finding common ground on our fishery

One of the key benefits of taiāpure is the exclusion of commercial fishing effort close to shore. This big seiner was photographed less than two nautical miles offshore at Bream Tail targeting jack mackerel. There has been plenty written about the two planned mātaitai reserves for Bream Bay and the southern shores of Whangārei Harbour over the last few weeks. Not all the commentary has been particularly pleasant, and much of it is ill-informed. Local iwi has borne the brunt of the vitriol, but the discussion has produced some positives that all parties can agree on. The biggest issue is that of abundance. Call the reserves what you want, but the one biggy is increasing fish in the ocean. Whatever species it is, we all want to gather, consume and share it. My concerns are threefold. Firstly, it is the size of the areas – some 50 kilometres of shorefront in total, I am told. Secondly, there is the governance of the area. This is a shared fishery as much as the quota management System allows, and I, as one of the stakeholders, want a say in this localised area management. Like iwi, I want abundance; I want to be able to gather kaimoana, as my family has done for four generations in New Zealand – Aotearoa, to feed my friends, family and visitors. Thirdly, to the best of my knowledge, the state of our local fishery has not been reviewed scientifically. Most of the evidence is circumstantial, something Fisheries New Zealand has been reluctant to accept when recreational representatives have submitted on matters of abundance. To discuss the issue rationally, stakeholders need to understand the history, which goes back well before Europeans influenced the land and seascapes. NZ Sport Fishing Council president Scott McIndoe, through his involvement with the council's public outreach arm LegaSea, has been at the forefront of fighting the recreational fishers' corner for many years. He says an understanding of the sacred obligations of manaakitanga (hosting visitors) and kaitiakitanga (care of the resource) is required to help people enthusiastically embrace customary fisheries management and harvest practices. In a document on the subject written for the LegaSea website, McIndoe explains that manaakitanga creates an obligation to care for visitors, while kaitiakitanga involves stewardship of resources to ensure healthy and abundant stocks. He says these obligations are recognised, at least in part, through customary fishing management tools and regulations. 'As a nation we now need to invest in achieving widespread understanding of both the customary obligations and the laws passed to acknowledge them,' McIndoe writes. He argues that greater understanding would also help inform decisions about how the total allowable catch is allocated, including the balance between commercial exports and providing for customary obligations. 'Clearly, abundance is the key to fulfilling our kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga obligations.' Fisheries New Zealand, local Patuharakeke Rohe Moana committee and Te Rerenga Paraoa Rohe Moana committee will be hosting a second public meeting at Waipū's Celtic Barn, 5 St Mary's Avenue, starting at 6pm on September 24. Stakeholders have until 5pm on October 16 to submit.