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As submissions closed on November 28 for the Section 186A ban process, Army Bay resident and Protect Whangaparāoa Rockpools (PWR) founder Mark Lenton says he is encouraged by the level of support, but warns that a lot of work remains.
Lenton says he understands that hundreds of submissions have been lodged from a wide range of groups. His group sent in six hundred submissions and he hopes Fisheries New Zealand will assess the feedback as it arrives so a decision can be made quickly by Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones.
However, Lenton says that even if the ban is approved, real change will only come from shifting gatherers’ attitudes through education and guidance delivered with the help of community leaders. He says the group has already received pushback from some gatherers who call New Zealanders naïve and stupid for allowing shellfish to be taken.
“So many people when confronted say they don’t care.”
Lenton says enforcing the ban will be difficult, as it can take up to a year to train voluntary fisheries officers, who do not have any enforcement powers.
He says it is hard not to feel frustrated. While locals have seen some improvement in Army Bay, they continue to receive reports of night-time harvesting at Hatfields Beach and Waiwera, as well as gatherers moving to other beaches around the peninsula and further up the coast. Residents on the West Coast at Bethells Beach and Muriwai have also phoned PWR for advice.
“Our coastline is being hit daily, and it’s not just here but nationwide.”
Lenton says it is difficult to trace, but he has heard anecdotal reports that the marine life taken is turned into seafood stock and sold commercially to restaurants and takeaways.
“It’s so frustrating when, for the harm caused to the environment, it’s so easy to buy fish stock. Why do they drive all the way to Army Bay to get a bucket of seafood, when the petrol alone would cost you more?”
Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries management Emma Taylor says that now public consultation has closed, officials will compile the feedback, discuss it with the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, and then prepare advice for the Minister.
“The time it will take to provide advice to the Minister will depend on the amount and complexity of the feedback received as part of the consultation. This process is not dependent on Parliament being in session,” Taylor says.
