The hui at Tairua-Pauanui Sport Fishing Club drew people of all backgrounds with an interest in protecting the Coromandel fishery. Photo / HC Post
Ngāti Hei Trust has been awarded $8000 to help pay for a dive survey of scallop populations following a two-year rahui on the eastern side of the Kuaotunu Peninsula.
Seven of the 11 Environmental Initiatives funding grants from the Waikato Regional Council awarded in the latest round went to eco projects in Thames Coromandel.
The iwi is among the winners of $105,000 in funding given to ecological projects on the Coromandel, including groups active in pest control, kiwi breeding programmes, regeneration of native forest and educating people about the shorebird coast.
"The success of Thames Coromandel projects is a testament to the hard work, dedication and massive community work these groups contribute to protecting and enhancing the unique biodiversity of the Coromandel," says Denis Tegg, who represents Thames Coromandel on the Waikato council.
Councillor Tegg spoke at a recent workshop held on protecting the Coromandel's fisheries.
Among groups and individuals gathered for the event at the Tairua-Pauanui Sport Fishing Club, many wanted to see bottom trawling banned from the Hauraki Gulf.
The Coromandel's recreational fishers avoided taking scallops to allow the beds to recover before a Government-backed rahui that prevents commercial dredging of the species in the Ngati Hei rohe (area).
Work is now under way to help restore scallop populations off the Coromandel coast and this includes a survey by members of Ngati Hei.
Those present at the workshop pointed to the benefits of local communities from fishing tournaments hosted by clubs such as the Mercury Bay Sport Fishing Club, which hosted one of the biggest sport fishing tournaments in the country and just two marlin were landed and the rest tagged and released.
A club representative said the event injected $850,000 into the Whitianga economy.
Of those at the workshop, concerns raised included the need for independent research to be used by the fishing industry, water quality and inputs from land-based contaminants, limiting fish takes and halting destructive fishing techniques including bottom dredging.
Suggestions include extending the Hahei Marine Reserve, the only one currently on the Coromandel.
"It's much easier to extend something that's already there, and of course this all has to be a collaborative approach with Te Tiriti o Waitangi," said Ana Horne of Whitianga.
Grant winners
Thames Coast Kiwi Care $8500
Thames Coast Kiwi Care services a trapping network within 4893 hectares in the Te Mata and Tapu valleys along the Thames Coast to protect a remnant population of the Coromandel brown kiwi. The local kiwi population here has increased from an estimated 28 birds in 2006 to an estimated 250 kiwi in 2021. This funding will help ensure best practice trapping by more than 50 volunteers.
Mahakirau Forest Estate Society Inc $10,000
Bordering the Manaia Forest Sanctuary , Mahakirau Forest Estate Society runs a predator control programme on behalf of 24 landowners on 600ha of privately owned forest between Coromandel and Whitianga. Rare natives include the northern striped gecko, Archey's frogs, Coromandel brown kiwi and Helm's butterfly.
Driving Creek Railway Ltd $15,000
Driving Creek Railway and conservation park offers low-cost educational conservation tours for schools and visitors and free self-guided walks through its onsite nature sanctuary. Funding will help pay for a proposed Driving Creek Kiwi Care project on 38.72ha of land, including a predator control network and weed control.
Project Kiwi Trust $27,000
A kiwi conservation project on 2850ha on the Kuaotunu Peninsula, it was the first community-based project in New Zealand to protect kiwi and has been operating for 25 years, currently protecting an estimated 535 kiwi. This funding will help buy trapping and bait station materials to control rats, possums, mustelids and wasps.
Mercury Bay Environmental Trust $13,000
A community trust in Whitianga that will use funding to control wilding pines on 62ha of land owned by the Backdrop Trust at the edge of Whitianga Harbour and replant with native trees, develop tracks for the public to access areas of native bush, wetlands and beaches.
Karuna Falls Co-operative Society $23,000
A rural off-grid ecovillage of around 20 households on 297ha of non-subdividable land in northern Coromandel. Its aim is to safeguard the regeneration of native forest and ensure protection of waterways and land from environmentally damaging practices such as mining activities, deforestation and pollution. This funding will help pay for a contractor to fell wilding pines on their property between Colville and Waikawau Bay.
Pukorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust $13,400
The trust advocates for shorebirds and their habitats and promotes education and public awareness of coastal ecology, shorebird research and conservation on the southwestern shores of the Firth of Thames, which is free to the public. Funding will cover wages of a shorebird guide for one season to educate visitors about shorebirds and inspire action to protect these species.
Hauraki District Council $3774
Speedy Reserve is a regionally significant natural area near Ngātea and is in poor condition. Pest plants such as privet and ivy are abundant. The Hauraki Plains was once a vast wetland covered in kahikatea. Today, about 1-2 per cent of kahikatea forest remains in the Waikato region. This funding is for the removal of pest plants and the supply of native plants to restore a 1ha kahikatea remnant in the Plains.
Waikato Environment Centre Trust $20,000
Trading as Go Eco, the Waikato Environment Centre Trust provides a community facility for advice, information and inspiration on living more sustainably. This funding will help pay for a pilot climate response programme which aims to prepare businesses, charities and other organisations to understand, measure and report on their CO2 emissions.
Tongariro National Trout Centre Society $5000
The Tongariro National Trout Centre Society is a charitable trust that provides a visitor education experience about freshwater conservation, based at the Tongariro National Trout Centre in Turangi. This funding is to help pay for the salary of an educator to deliver a curriculum-linked learning experience about freshwater to students outside the classroom.