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Anyone who wants to see an end to gangs of people stripping rockpools of all marine life is being urged to make a submission to Fisheries NZ by 5pm on Friday, November 28.
That’s the deadline for public feedback on Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust’s (NMST) application for a two-year ban on the harvesting of all shellfish, invertebrate and seaweed species from the eastern coastline, from Mangawhai to Mairangi Bay.
The application, made under section 186A of the Fisheries Act, is the latest of several moves to stop the over-harvesting of marine life that has become rife in recent years (MM, Sep 15).
NMST chief executive Nicola Rata-MacDonald said the bid was part of a broader tikanga-led effort by the trust to restore and protect intertidal ecosystems, as pressures on them have continued to grow.
Alongside the application, NMST will also place a rāhui over the same area in a further effort to allow species and ecosystems to rest and regenerate.
“In 2010, Whangateau Harbour was closed to cockle and pipi harvesting, but pressures on other parts of our rohe have only increased,” she said.
“Placing a rāhui is an expression of our role as kaitiaki and draws on mātauranga Māori passed down through generations.”
She said an NMST monitoring programme was already underway to establish baseline ecological and cultural data to measure the impact of a closure.
Locally, the campaign to halt rockpool stripping was started in 2020 by Omaha Beach resident Mary Coupe, who organised a 3000-signature petition and made her own ultimately unsuccessful application for a temporary ban.
More recently, the cause has been taken up by Army Bay resident Mark Lenton, who made a presentation to the Hauraki Gulf Forum in May about the damage being caused to local coastlines.
He said the NMST application was “finally” a step in the right direction and he urged people to submit feedback before November 28.
“We now need a swift public consultation process to get the ban in place before summer,” he said.
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.
Lenton has drawn up a submission form that people can use to submit their feedback direct to Fisheries NZ, which can be found here: https://shorturl.at/t7F5G
Fisheries NZ is asking people to email submissions to them at FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz, or post them to Spatial Allocations, Fisheries Management, Fisheries NZ, PO Box 2526, Wellington 6140.
