April 20, 2016
Legal battle shows fish trust value
The incoming chief executive of Te Ohu Kaimoana says court action over the proposed Kermadec ocean sanctuary shows the need for the fisheries settlement trust to continue.
Dion Tuuta has run giant Taranaki land incorporation Parininihi ki Waitotara for the past 8 years.
He also chairs Port Nicholson Fisheries, which brings together more than 20 iwi lobster quota holders, PKW and pan-Maori fishing company Moana, formerly known as Aotearoa Fisheries.
He says there are still challenges in getting Maori working together in the fisheries industry.
The trust can be a unifying force, particularly for interactions with government.
"It would be very difficult for individual iwi to take an action like this alone. If Te Ohu Kaimoana can act as a spokesperson for iwi and Maori as a whole it is very useful, certainly alonside iwi as well, who no doubt will have their own view," Mr Tuuta says.
While the crown may feel it’s doing an honourable thing in closing off the Kermadecs to fishing, it’s doing so in a dishonourable way by not consulting with Maori and cancelling their treaty settlement rights.
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