Waimārama and Ocean Beach pāua ban extended for two years

Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Bayden Barber (inset) says it's important to keep the ban in place for two more years. Photo / Warren Buckland

A ban on taking pāua from the wider Waimārama Beach and Ocean Beach area in Hawke’s Bay has been extended for two more years.

The temporary pāua ban along that coastline has been in place for the past four years and was due to expire on December 22.

Ngāi Hapū o Waimārama requested a two-year extension to allow the blackfoot pāua population to continue to recover from the effects of seasonal fishing and the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones confirmed on Friday the request had been approved.

That was despite concerns the ban has caused problems further down the coast.

It is the second extension to the initial two-year ban around Waimārama that began in December 2020.

The latest extension will begin on December 23 and be enforced by Fisheries New Zealand officers.

The closed area extends along the entire coastline of the hapū’s rohe moana, extending from Whakapau Point in the north to Te Rāhui in the south – a distance of 24km.

The ban also extends two nautical miles (3.7km) offshore, including the waters around Bare Island.

The ban area along the Waimārama coast. Photo / Fisheries New Zealand

“I have agreed to Ngāi Hapū o Waimārama’s request for a further two-year pāua ban over their rohe moana," Jones said.

“I acknowledge hapū observations of localised depletion of pāua and share their concerns that the recovering pāua population would not sustain harvesting at this time.

“While the full impacts from Cyclone Gabrielle on pāua are not known, removing fishing pressure is an immediate measure to make sure the pāua have the best chance to recover."

The blackfoot pāua ban hasn’t been entirely popular, with some suggesting it has caused problems elsewhere.

Pourerere Beach resident and Central Hawke’s Bay district councillor Jerry Greer, speaking to Hawke’s Bay Today in October, said it was no secret that beaches along the CHB coast were getting “hammered”.

He said Pourerere (south of Waimārama) in particular had seen an influx of pāua gatherers since the Waimārama ban.

“It started happening post-Covid really. The word got out that Pourerere was a very good spot for pāua and access to Pourerere Beach and further to Aramoana was easy," he said.

“The Waimārama rāhui has been on for two years now and it’s caused havoc out there to be quite honest.

“Some days out there you would see over 100 vehicles out by the reef or around the beaches collecting pāua and other seafood daily during the weekends.”

Greer said if no action were taken to implement a ban in that area too, there would eventually be no pāua left to gather.

The Ngāti Kahungunu hapū of Waimārama chairman Bayden Barber previously said it was important to keep the ban in place for two more years.

“We went out to one of our pāua spots [in September] just to have a look and do some monitoring, but we still think it needs time,” Barber said.

“Of the 60 pāua at the spot ... there was not one at the legal size limit. A couple were close, but nothing over 125mm.”

He said “at the moment they’re not flourishing as we’d hoped” after four years.

Barber said other justifications for extending the closure included the start of a new monitoring scheme and expert advice from Niwa post-Cyclone Gabrielle.

“[The scheme] will take all of two years. You can only do it in certain tides and times during summer,” he said.

“The pāua are kind of like humans. They flourish where there is plenty of food, so Cyclone Gabrielle had a huge impact on our fisheries, especially with the reefs close to the shore.”

Under the Fisheries Act 1996, the Waimarama hapu - as kaitiaki (guardian) - has authority to issue permits for customary takes of paua within the ban area (such as for tangi).

However, under its application to extend the ban, the hapu stated it would not issue customary permits during the closure period.

There is one other temporary Ministry for Primary Industries-enforced pāua closure in place in the Hawke’s Bay region – off Bluff Hill in Napier that will remain in place until June 21.