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Kai te whakanuia tonutia ngā mahi rangatira a Te Arawa Lakes Trust. Nō te wiki kua pahemo i tū ai tētehi hui whakaharahara ki Tamakimakaurau ki te whakanui ngā rōpū pēnei i a rātau, wheoi anō kua whakawhiwhia e rātau ki te tūnga me te taonga nui taioreore katoa i te hui New Zealand Biosecurity Māori Award.
Ko te take, atu i te tuku werawera ko te whakaū me te kawe i ngā tikanga onamata ki a whai take ai ki te ao hurihuri nei.
Hai oranga mō te taiao te take. Ka nui te whakamihi a te pouwhakahaere o tana pahi a William Anaru ki ngā hapū, ki te iwi, ngā tamariki, kura-ā-iwi, ngā kura kaupapa otīā te hāpori whānui tonu mō tā rātau tautoko mai.
"Ko te mana whakarauora taiao kai ngā tini whānau o te takiwā nei, nā reira i puta mai te whakaaro mō te kaupapa a Uwhi he kaupapa whakapēhi i te petipeti roto moana, whakaratarata hoki i te momo ika nei a catfish, ka rua, he kaupapa whakawhanake i te ohu kia nui atu ai te hunga mahi hai hāpai i te kaupapa rauora taiao.
Nā tēnei taonga e mana ai ā mātau mahi me ngā mātāpono o tō mātau whare". Kai te patua rawatia ngā roto moana o Te Arawa e ngā tini whiunga o te ao nei , nā i ngā marama me ngā tau kua huri kai te mura o te ahi a Te Arawa Lakes Trust e koke whakamua ana me ngā tini whakaaro hou pēnei i te kaupapa uwhi.
Kua piki ngā poumahi o tēnei tīma ki te rua tekau mā tahi, kātahi hoki nei rātau ka eke ki te taumata e rima mano ekenga, putanga ki te mātai moana a pōti nei hai whakapēhi i te tupu haere o te petipeti.
E noho tūturu hoki nei rātau ki ngā kura e toru tekau mā rima ko te patu catfish te take . Ko te kawe i te kaupapa uwhi me te ako i ngā poumahi ki te ruku moana ā pātara hoki te take kua paiakangia ngā waewae o TALT ki te ao pūtaiao tiaki taiao ā rohe nei. Kāti, nā ngā whakaaro pae tawhiti o tēnei whare kua pūare hoki ngā whatitoka ki ngā poumahi hou, kātahi anō rātau ka eke ki te whitu tekau o ngā poumahi kua whai mahi mai ki tēnei tāone.
He kaupapa whakanui pākihi, whakateitei ngā iwi me ngā ohu rangahau otīā ngā pahi hāpori e ora ai te taiao te tino take o te New Zealand Biosecurity Awards. He take nui kai ia wāhanga, kai ia wāhanga he take motuhenga, he kaupapa motuhake hoki.
Ko te mana patu ngārara ko te kaupapa atawhai kēwai me ēra atu o ngā taonga o roto moana kai te tārouma o tēnei ohu mahi.
He kaupapa i whakaaraarangia nō ngā tau tata nei, ara nō te tau e rua mano e rua tekau. Ko tōna mana atawhai kai runga i ngā rotomoana o tēnei takiwā. Kai Rotoehu, kai te Rotomā, Rotorua,Īkataina, Te Rotoiti, Ōkareka, Rerewhakaaitu, Tarawera, Rotomahana, Tikitapu, Ngāhewa, Tutaeīnanga, Ngāpouri me Ōkaro.
Nā te mea kua whakawhiwhia rātau ki te taonga Manatū Ahu Matua kua puta tō rātau ihu ki te ao hai tauira whakahirahira mō te taiao nei, mātua mō te tuku tūnga mahi e mana hoki ai ngā tangata.
Nā te ūnga mai o ngā ngārara nei ki te nehenehe me ngā roto moana kua whakatereinga ngā ika Māori pēnei me te kōaro, te īnanga, te tuna me ngā kēwai Māori.
Kai te pae o Maruiwi katoa rātau. Wheoi anō nā te whakawhiwhinga ki tēnei taonga kua whai oranga anō ai ēnei rangatira o te taiao me te hiahia nui nā ngā ngākau toa o ngā poumahi e ora roa hoki ai ngā tupuna o ngā wai Māori.
Hai whakamīharotanga mō tātau katoa.
—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori tenei purongo
National organisations are recognising the excellent mahi carried out by the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, with the latest accolade being awarded this week.
TALT's ongoing biosecurity efforts were recognised at the annual New Zealand Biosecurity Awards, held in Auckland. Te Arawa Lakes Trust won the New Zealand Biosecurity Māori Award for its multi-faceted mātauranga Māori approach to restoring Te Arawa lakes and waterways.
Biosecurity manager William Anaru says the award acknowledges the significant impact made by hapū, iwi and marae communities, kura kaupapa Māori, kura ā iwi and schools, local government, organisations and trusts.
"Our whānau are the key to unlocking solutions for our Rotorua lakes and they are the drivers of kaupapa like the Uwhi, catfish management, aquatic weed management, wetland restoration and the build of a Te Arawa biosecurity workforce.
"The award will help shine an even brighter light on the work being done here and help towards creating more sustainable employment opportunities."
Biosecurity issues continue to have a significant impact on the Tipuna roto (ancestral lakes) of Te Arawa.
In recent years, Te Arawa Lakes Trust have been at the forefront of initiatives to resolve these issues and create employment for our people.
The team of sworn biosecurity officers has grown to 21 and has conducted more than 5000 boat inspections to limit the spread of weeds between lakes. They also work with 35 local schools around the rohe to eliminate invasive bullhead catfish.
Its wetland restoration mahi, Uwhi trial for the control of aquatic pest weeds, and training of Te Arawa whānau to become scientific divers has cemented TALT's position as a key player in the region's biosecurity sector, and led to the creation of more than 70 jobs for iwi.
The New Zealand Biosecurity Awards celebrate the businesses, iwi, researchers and community groups that are doing vital work to protect New Zealand's biosecurity.
Each category recognises the complexity of an effective, sustainable biosecurity system.
The biosecurity team is charged with protecting kōura and five other freshwater taonga species which are protected under the Te Arawa Lakes (Fisheries) Bylaw which was introduced in 2020 to help protect and replenish taonga species across Rotoehu, Rotomā, Rotorua, Ōkataina, Rotoiti, Ōkareka, Rerewhakaaitu, Tarawera, Rotomahana, Tikitapu, Ngāhewa, Tutaeīnanga, Ngāpouri and Ōkaro.
In making the award, the Ministry for Primary Industries (Manatū Ahu Matua) said Te Arawa Lakes Trust have been at the forefront of initiatives to resolve the biosecurity issues and create employment for their people.
Invasive fish, mammals and pest weeds both aquatic and land-based have driven taonga like koura, kākahi beds, inanga, koaro, and tuna to the brink of extinction MPI said.
In awarding the top gong to Te Arawa Lakes Trust, MPI said Te Arawa was a "key player in the region's biosecurity sector".
A scene guard is in place, and inquiries continuing, police say.