Peace plan brings hope in harbour fish wars

PHILIP ENGLISH reports on efforts to calm the Kaipara's troubled fishing waters.

Communities on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour are working on a plan to halt to stop fish stocks declining and end years of conflict between local people and commercial fishers.

A round of public meetings has begun to ensure that future generations of iwi, recreational fishers and commercial fishers will have fish to catch.

Four years ago, tempers flared between the local community and commercial fishers in the tiny harbour settlement of Tinopai.

Much of the conflict arose because the harbour lies within the quota management area encompassing the total marine area of the top half of the North Island.

That allows commercial fishers permitted to catch fish in the area to focus on the harbour when conditions are poor elsewhere.

The Kaipara - one of the largest harbours in the Southern Hemisphere - is a sheltered, easily accessible body of water close to the Auckland market but, according to locals, its stocks of flounder, grey mullet and rig or lemon fish have been reduced through fishing.

When the conflict arose, a call went out for a rahui, or ban, on fishing in certain parts of the harbour.

A legal rahui was later introduced by the Minister of Fisheries, Pete Hodgson, who also asked local people to come up with their own solution.

About two years ago iwi, commercial fishers and locals called a community meeting as a first step towards resolving the conflict. Since then meetings have been held regularly to find an acceptable solution.

The Kaipara District Mayor and chairman of the Kaipara Harbour Sustainable Fishing Study Group, Graeme Ramsey, said the feeling was that unless something was done, the conflict would get worse.

"I think everyone is united by a common view. We must have sustainable fisheries in the harbour but we must also recognise there are lots of different calls on that.

"Some make their livelihood off the fisheries, many of us feed our families and some people also fish for sport.

"It's amazing at the end of the day what a community can do in terms of forcing the issues and taking ownership."

Mr Ramsey said he hoped the sustainable fishing plan drawn up by the study group would replace the rahui.

A main recommendation of the plan was to establish a separate quota management area in the harbour so it could be managed as a separate fishery.

"There is support among local commercial fishers for a separate quota management area. Whether the rest of the industry takes the same view remains to be seen."

The study group has also called for codes of practice for commercial and recreational fishers, as well as for more enforcement and monitoring of fish stocks in the harbour.

Mr Ramsey said the first couple of public meetings had been well attended and feedback had been good.

"There has been a whole bunch of concerns raised as well ... There has been an enormous amount of criticism directed at the way the Ministry of Fisheries is enforcing current regulations.

"That is a little bit scary because one of the key parts of the document that we have identified that we need to develop is an approach to enforcement."

Meetings continue next week in Kaiwaka, Wellsford and Helensville. Submissions on the study group's recommendations close on November 30.

The study group's postal address is PO Box 68 228, Newton. The group can also be contacted on 025 220 3165.