Viewpoint – Working together for our coastline

One of the most powerful things we can do as a community is work together to achieve the outcomes we all want to see. A recent example of this is the successful two-year ban on shoreline species take, led by Ngāti Manuhiri.

Section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996 allows for temporary closures to the taking of certain coastal species, giving marine environments time to recover. In this case, it has resulted in a two-year ban on harvesting key intertidal species along parts of our coastline. A major step toward restoring the health of our moana.

This outcome didn’t happen by chance. It was driven by the leadership of Ngāti Manuhiri, supported by the local board through a formal letter with its application, and strongly backed by our community. Protect Whangaparāoa Rockpools played a critical role in building awareness and ensuring widespread public support, giving Minister Shane Jones the confidence to approve the application. 

This decision will help to ensure our coastline remains healthy and abundant for generations to come. That said, it was disappointing that the closure did not extend across the full area originally applied for. I wrote to Minister Shane Jones and Under-Secretary Jenny Marcroft MP advocating for the extension of the closure as applied for, and for consideration of a two-year ban across all of Auckland to address growing displacement issues. Following receipt of my letter to her, I recently met with Marcroft to discuss this momentum and the strong support for broader action. Shortly, the Ministry for Primary Industries will be consulting on outdated recreational shellfish limits. We will continue advocating for a region-wide two-year ban, alongside these longer-term limit changes.

Thank you to Ngāti Manuhiri for your leadership, to Protect Whangaparāoa Rockpools, and to everyone who made their voice heard. This is what we can achieve when we work together. I’m looking forward to the success of this work leading to a regional two-year closure so that our shorelines can recover.