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Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust has applied for a two-year ban on the harvesting of all shellfish and seaweed from rockpools along Auckland’s eastern coastline, from the Rodney Local Board area through to the Hibiscus Local Board area.
This is in response to extensive overharvesting of the shoreline for many years. (Hibiscus Matters, August 11).
The application, made under section 186A of the Fisheries Act, is part of a broader tikanga-led effort by the Trust to restore and protect intertidal ecosystems.
Trust chief executive Nicola Rata-MacDonald MNZM says the pressures on rocky reefs and intertidal areas have continued to grow.
“Ngāti Manuhiri have been working with government agencies for many years to protect our coastline,” she says. “In 2010, Whangateau Harbour was closed to cockle and pipi harvesting, but pressures on other parts of our rohe have only increased.”
Alongside the application, the Trust will also place a rāhui over the same area – a traditional Māori practice that temporarily restricts access so species and ecosystems can rest and regenerate.
“The Trust’s monitoring programme is already underway to establish baseline ecological and cultural data to measure the impact of a closure,” Rata-MacDonald says. “Placing a rāhui is an expression of our role as kaitiaki and draws on mātauranga Māori passed down through generations.”
Army Bay resident and founder of Protect Whangaparāoa Rockpools (PWR) Mark Lenton says the section 186a application was finally a step in the right direction.
“The size of the proposed ban area, their entire jurisdiction, highlights just how rapidly depleted our foreshore has become and how seriously Manuhiri is taking it. We now need a swift public consultation process to get the ban in place before summer.”
The application will be considered by Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones. If approved, Fisheries New Zealand will enforce the closure, with support from community members who can apply to become honorary fisheries officers.
