Tauranga iwi place rāhui along Mount Maunganui coast to protect kaimoana

People are being urged to stop gathering three species of kaimoana from the coast and reefs near Mount Maunganui to allow depleted stocks to replenish. Photo / NZME

A rāhui has been placed over key coastal and harbour areas around Mount Maunganui to allow the natural replenishment of kaimoana species.

Tauranga Moana Iwi Customary Fisheries Trust took the action after low population numbers were recorded for pāua (black and yellow-foot abalone), kūtai (green-lipped mussels) and kōura (crayfish).

The pāua population declined by more than 50%, chairperson Kia Māia Ellis said.

The trust has called on fishers to stop gathering these depleted kaimoana species to allow stocks time to rest and regenerate.

The rāhui area for kūtai covered the traditional kūtai beds east of Mauao between Moturiki and Motuotau Islands, including “Sunken Reef” and “Wedding Cake” reefs.

For pāua and kōura, the area encompassed the rocky reef and coastal margins around Mauao, including the ocean and harbour sides.

The customary rāhui area on kūtai. Graphic / Tauranga Moana Iwi Customary Fisheries Trust

The trust deals with customary fisheries on behalf of the iwi of Tauranga Moana – Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga.

Ellis said the about 20 appointed tangata kaitiaki (guardians) for marae from Tauranga to Pāpāmoa and Otawhiwhi (Bowentown) had agreed no new customary fishing permits would be issued for these species within the rāhui areas.

The rāhui would remain in place while the trust developed mātaitai reserve bylaws, or until the trust and tangata kaitiaki determined the stocks had sufficiently recovered.

A mātaitai reserve is an area closed to commercial fishing that may have bylaws affecting recreational and customary fishing.

“Our goal is to build the population up and let those brood stock grow bigger so that they can reproduce more for future years,” Ellis said.

“We acknowledge the support of the wider community and respectfully ask all fishers, customary, recreational and commercial, to honour the rāhui and uphold the intentions behind it.

The customary rāhui area on pāua and kōura. Graphic / Tauranga Moana Iwi Customary Fisheries Trust

“We’re not really taking anything away from anyone … because there aren’t any big enough to harvest.”

Boulders removed by upcoming dredging would be used to create reef corridors where kōura could shelter as they move through the harbour.

“We’re enhancing the habitat and enhancing some of the species,” Ellis said.

Ellis said the trust was working with the Port of Tauranga, University of Waikato and Deep Dive Division – a company developing artificial habitats – as part of long-term restoration efforts.

“We want to look at resetting the pāua bed as well, so that while the rāhui is on, we’re actually boosting our species production at the same time.”

The rāhui was enacted through tikanga (Māori customs) while the trust worked to develop the bylaws.

“The rāhui is a transition period so people can get used to not taking the kaimoana until it becomes enforceable,” Ellis said.

A mātaitai reserve in Mount Maunganui. Graphic / MPI

Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries management Emma Taylor said, under tikanga Māori, a rāhui was respected and adherence to them was voluntary and generally well supported.

Fisheries New Zealand had not yet received an application for a temporary closure to support the rāhui.

To provide statutory support, tangata whenua could request the Oceans and Fisheries Minister impose a temporary closure to prohibit all recreational and commercial fishing.

A mātaitai reserve already prohibited commercial fishing in Mount Maunganui, Taylor said.

The maximum recreational daily limit was 25 mussels per person.

Rāhui follows toxin warning

The rāhui comes after New Zealand Food Safety issued a warning last week urging people not to gather or eat shellfish along the western Bay of Plenty coastline after routine testing detected dangerous levels of a toxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.

The warning applied from just north of the Maketū Beach estuary to the northern end of Waihī Beach, and covered species including mussels, oysters, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles, scallops, pūpū (cat’s eyes) and Cook’s turban.

Pāua, crab and crayfish remained safe to eat only if the gut was completely removed before cooking, as toxins concentrated in the gut.

Anyone unwell after eating shellfish from the affected area should call Healthline on 0800 611 116 or seek immediate medical attention.

Bijou Johnson is a journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.