Te Arawa Lakes trust whānau at Motutara (Sulphur point) for the blessing of Kōura.
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Kua whakahaongia te koura rotomoana ki te kete haumarutanga o Te Arawa Lakes Trust.
He pahi e whakaririka nei ki te puapua i ngā tamariki katoa o te moana kia kāua e mate-ā-moa ngā aitanga a Punga kai rite ki te iwi o Maruiwi i tōremi ai ki Te Reinga. Hai tā a William Anaru tētehi o ngā manu tūtei mā Te Arawa Lakes Trust (TALT) e whakahīhī ana, kua whakahao mai tētehi waka whakamīharo ki te ranga tauā - kua peitangia te waka ki te kōkōwai, kua whakarākeingia ki te kōwhaiwhai Mangopare ka oti ana, kua tapangia ai ki te ingoa o tētehi o ngā uri o te roto-moana.
Kātahi nei te waka whakamīharo e haere nei. I te whitinga o te rā i Te Kauanga-Hoanga ka karakiangia ngā waka. Ka oti ana ngā mahi o te atatū ka wehewehe ai te whakaminenga, ka whakamātauria a Koura e William rāua ko te rangatira hautu waka a Corey O'Neil.
Ka puta te ihu o Koura – he waka rangatira! Ko te painga o Koura hai tā TALT kāore e take ana ki te nanao atu ki ētehi atu o ngā pahi, ki ētehi atu o ngā hoa, ki ētehi atu o ngā whānau kia awhinangia rātou. Hai painga anō hoki, nā te mea kua piki te rahi o ngā waka, ka piki hoki te rahi o ngā pou mahi, hai whakakī ngā whāwhārua tūnga mahi.
He ahakoa tēnei kua rangatira noa atu a TALT i tana kaupapa mahi tiaki taiao, ā, e mātaitai kaupapa mahi anō ia hai amo i te hunga kimi mahi. Nā te ture e mana ai tana tūnga tiaki roto moana me āna tamariki katoa.
Ko te kōura tētehi o te huinga toko-ono e tiakina ana ē te ture o Te Arawa Lakes (Fisheries). He ture i whakaarangia i te tau e rua mano, e rua tekau. Ko te take, he tiaki i ngā momo taonga katoa o ngā roto moana o te waiariki pēnei me Te Rotoehu, Te Rotomā, Te Rotorua, Okataina, Te Rotoiti, Okareka, Rerewhakaaitu, Tarawera, Rotomahana, Tikitapu, Ngāhewa, Tutaeīnanga, Ngāpouri me Ōkaro. Ko ngā mahi a te waka, he aroturuki me te whakahaumaru otīā ko te manako nui kia tū rangatira ai ia hai whakaakiaki i ngā iwi, hai whakakōrero i ngā tangata ki ngā kaupapa mahi kai, hao kai, ki ngā pūrākau whaihoki ki te kimi oranga mo ngā taumahatanga e pēhi nei i tō tātou taiao.
"Ko te whakanikohanga o tō tātou waka, he ahakoa he māmā, he mana nui i heke iho i ngā wānanga o Ngai Te Arawa engari rā ko te whāinga nui ko te whakahono i ngā whānaunga me ngā whakatupuranga ki ngā kaupapa manaaki taiao – i runga i te whakaaro nā tātou katoa ēnei taonga tuku iho".
Kua eke a William, tētehi o ngā mātai koiora moana ki ngā tau e toru me te hāwhe e mahi ana mā TALT. He mātanga e whai pānga ana ki a Ngai Te Arawa, ki a Ngāti Tuwharetoa me Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. I whānau ai i Kirikiriroa, ā, i pakeketia i Rotorua. Tokotoru āna tamariki i whai wāhi ai hoki ki te hakoke i Amerika.
E whakahīhī nei kua mana te kaupapa o Te Arawa Catfish Killa ko te whāinga nui he pēhi i ngā ika catfish.
"Kai te whānga o Te Weta ā mātou ringa awhina e hao catfish tonu ana. Nā tō mātou waka hou nei ka kino kē tā mātou mahi ki te tuku kupenga ki ngā wāhi e kore e tāea te tangata. Ka tāpiko mātou e wha tekau anō kupenga karapoti ai i ngā roto moana o Te Rotoiti me Rotorua hai pēhi i te rahinga o ngā ika catfish i mua tonu o te wāhanga whakatupu punua ka timatangia ai ā te puku o te tau".
E titiro pae tawhiti atu ana ā TALT kai te whakangungu tangata tonu rātou kia eke ai ngā pou-mahi tika ki ngā tūnga hautu waka kauaka mā te waka o Koura anake engari anō ngā waka ka whakatata mai hai tōna wā."
Tokorua ā mātou rangatira hautū waka, ka whakatata mai tokorua anō ā te Pipiri – e kore e mutu te ako tangata ki te hautū waka, he kitenga whakapae nā mātou ka tupu anō tēnei wahanga o te mahi i te pūaretanga ai o ngā roto moana ki te ao.
E kūware tonu ana mātou ki ngā ngārara ka whakatata mai ki te waha-tieke o Te Waiariki, whoi anō mā te whakatakoto rautaki tika e matāra ai a Ngai Te Arawa". Ko tētehi atu o ōna whakaaro nāna hoki i rau atu ki te poho o te ātea mahi ko te Uwhi. He ahakoa kai te āta tirohia te pēwheatanga o tēnei kaupapa, e hākoakoa nei ngā ngākau.
He āhua rite nei te uwhi ki te whāraki kua herea ki te punga, ko te tikanga o te uwhi he pēhi i te petipeti ko ngā mea whakapōrearea taiao o te roto-moana.
He mea ārai ngā hīhī o te rā e te Uwhi e hemo ai ngā petipeti wetiweti, nā reira e ora ai ngā otaota Maori. Kai ngā roto-moana o Tarawera o Te Rotomā me Te Rotoiti ngā Uwhi e takoto ana.
Me he hoa whawhai āu ki te kauhanga o te riri ka piki ake te mana o ngā kaupapa tiaki roto-moana. Ka nui te harikoa o William me TALT e mahi tahi ana rātou me Te Kaunihera o Te Moana o Toi te Huatahi me te Kaunihera o Rotorua. Ko te whāinga o Te Kaunihera o Te Moana o Toi te Huatahi, "Ki a pūāwai tātou katoa – mō te taiao, mō ngā tāngata" e aro nui ana hoki ki te hauoratanga o te taiao, ngā pūkahukahu o ngā roto-moana otīā ko te māiatanga o te hāpori me te ngākau whiwhita o te rohe. Ko te rautaki hoki o TALT, "Te mā o te wai e rite ana kia kite i ngā tapuwae ā te kōura".
Kia kāua e waka noa o tātou waka nei, whoi anō he waka kawe tikanga, kawe kōrero, kawe mana motuhake e whai waha ai ngā taonga o ngā roto-moana".
E ai ki a Corey tētehi o ngā mātanga ruku wai mā TALT, i te tuatahi kāore ia e whakapono ana ki te kaupapa e pōhēhē ana e warea kē a TALT ki te taha moni tēnā i te taiao. I tetehi hui i Te Ruāto ka pātaingia ia e te hāpori mēnā rānei e pirangi ana kia noho mai hai pou-mahi tūao mātakitaki ika catfish.
"He kaitiaki ahau mā te whānau Taia i tāua wā i tētehi o ngā whanga o Te Rotoiti".
"Nau mai ki nāiānei ko ahau tētehi o ngā pou-mahi taiao mā TALT e waihanga rautaki hou nei ki te tiaki i tō tātou taiao. Ko te rautaki catfish kua eke ki tona taumata tiketike, kua whakapono mai ngā rōpū ki te tika o tēnei kaupapa, nā reira e kaha ake ai ngā hononga ki waenga nui i a tātou katoa."
Hai whakakapinga kōrero māku, "Whakaaro Maori – ake, ake ake!"
—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaoritia tenei purongo
Koura is the latest addition to the Te Arawa Lakes Trust arsenal in the never-ending campaign to protect the taonga species against invasive pests in our lakes and other waterways.
Te Arawa Lakes Trust (TALT) biosecurity manager William Anaru is proud that Koura, coloured kōkōwai red and covered in Mangopare kōwhaiwhai will be the first in a series of Te Arawa Lakes Trust commercial waka to be named after a freshwater taonga.
Early on a sunny morning at Motutara (Sulphur Point) last week a simple karakia was performed to launch this latest initiative in TALT's Mahi.
Later, after most of the gathering had dispersed, William and TALT lead diver Corey O'Neill put Koura through her paces. She passed with flying colours.
Having their own waka means TALT are not reliant on friends or whanau for vessels. Being able to do more work means more jobs will be available. Already TALT has been a successful player in the Jobs for Nature programme and is always on the lookout to create more.
Its role in protecting freshwater taonga is set out in legislation.
Kōura or freshwater crayfish are one of six freshwater taonga species 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.
"Operationally our waka will be used to carry out monitoring and biosecurity work for the team, but we also hope our waka stands out to lead positive, thought-provoking conversations around traditional kai, pūrākau and climate change solutions.
"The design of our waka is simple, but it holds traditional Te Arawa patterns which we hope pushes our narrative that extra step further in encouraging connection and generational responsibility for the protection of these taonga."
Marine biologist and ecologist William (Te Arawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) has been in the TALT job three and a half years. He was born in Hamilton but grew up in Rotorua.
The father of three also spent six years in the United States. He is proud that the Te Arawa Catfish Killa project to eliminate the brown bullhead catfish has been so successful.
"Our volunteers are still catching loads of catfish in Te Weta Bay. With our new waka, we intend to increase our impact by setting more nets in those hard-to-reach places that many volunteers can't get to.
"We will be setting a further 40 nets around Rotoiti and Rotorua in an attempt to minimise the catfish population before breeding starts later in the year." With eyes to the future TALT are training their current staff to move into the driver's seat of Koura and the future waka to come.
"We currently have two Commercial Skippers with two more to be signed off in June.
"Diver training will continue too as the need for this type of mahi is only going to increase as we move on, and our waters open back up to the world.
"There is no telling what biosecurity threats we could be facing in the years to come, but Te Arawa will be ready with a skilled team to put the stops in place when needed."
Another initiative he introduced, the Uwhi, is still being monitored but preliminary results look promising. Uwhi are closely woven flax mats which are anchored to the lakebed to suppress pest weeds. Because Uwhi block out sunlight, photosynthesis is suppressed and the introduced pest weeds die off, allowing the native species to regenerate. Uwhi have been installed at Lakes Tarawera, Rotoma and Rotoiti.
Having allies in the fight against pests also means projects have more chance of success. William and TALT welcome co-governance with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Rotorua Lakes Council. The BOP Regional Council works towards a vision of "Thriving Together – mō te taiao, mō ngā tāngata," and focuses on delivering a healthy environment, fresh water for life, safe an resilient communities and a vibrant region.
TALT's strategic goal is "Te mā o te wai e rite ana kia kite i ngā tapuwae ā te kōura" (the quality of the water is such that you can see the footsteps of the kōura).
"We want our waka to be more than just a boat, we want it to be a vessel carrying a key message and, in this instance, a talking point to our taonga species. "Corey, TALT's lead diver, says he was not totally on board at first because he thought TALT was looking at economics not the environment.
At a meeting at Ruato Corey was asked if he wanted to help and volunteer monitoring catfish.
"At that time, I was kaitiaki for my [Taia] whanau at Cherry Bay, Lake Rotoiti."Fast forward and I am part of their environmental team and TALT are pioneering new ways to manage biosecurity. The catfish strategy is successful and that strengthened relationships among the parties.
"Maori whakaaro forever."
The fire took place around midnight and took firefighters three hours to control.