Marine – Intertidal zones need more than bandaids 

Being able to step out the door with a bucket and gather pipi used to be one of the simple joys of living near the coast. For many Mahurangi and Whangaparāoa locals, that experience is now a distant memory.

There has been a steady decline of critters that inhabit our rocky intertidal areas, largely due to over-harvesting of species not adequately protected under current regulations. The rules are outdated, and the law hasn’t kept pace with changing harvesting habits.

As Milton Freidman once said, “Only a crisis, actual or perceived, produces real change”. For our coastal communities, that crisis has arrived. Locals have had enough of witnessing widespread depletion. Now drastic changes are required to bring abundance back into our rockpools.

Earlier in January, the Protect Whangaparāoa Rockpools group held a peaceful protest at Army Bay. It was a strong response by the community protesting the lack of any meaningful management, regulation or leadership around how we behave in the intertidal zone.

But these concerns aren’t new. For decades coastal communities, LegaSea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council have raised concerns about the mounting pressure on our intertidal fisheries. Increasing harvesting pressure during a cost-of-living crisis, population growth, and environmental stressors are all factors that have contributed to the decline of these fragile ecosystems.

The intertidal area is largely a non-commercial fishing zone, so it doesn’t receive the same monitoring, management or attention as more valuable commercial fisheries. A lack of investment in science, monitoring, and enforcement means the creeping depletion has occurred largely unchecked.

In 2017 LegaSea worked alongside mana whenua, commercial and recreational fishing interests, and environmental organisations to help shape Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari, a bold plan aimed at restoring the health of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. One of the plan’s objectives was Ahu Moana, a management tool designed to empower mana whenua and local communities to make specific, locally-based decisions around their vulnerable intertidal zones – responsive management to avoid ongoing depletion.

Yet nine years on, little has been done to deliver what was promised. In the face of continued inaction, iwi and community members have had to rely on the limited tools available to them. Applying for two-year temporary closures to harvesting in areas under increasing pressure is one of the few options available.

We are expecting a decision soon as to whether the Minister will approve Ngāti Mauhiri’s application for a two-year temporary closure of the intertidal zone from Mangawhai encompassing Mahurangi and Hauraki Gulf islands and ending at Auckland’s North Shore suburbs.

While closures may ease the pressure of fishing locally, this just shifts the effort as fishers move onto the next available area to catch their bag limit. Until meaningful, long-term management measures are implemented to address the depletion of vulnerable species, we will continue to see closures used as a band-aid solution.

Fisheries NZ must step up and deliver the tools needed to protect our precious intertidal species so our future generations can enjoy the wonders of a coastline teeming with abundance.