August 26, 2021
Online hui pushes case for rahui
Iwi trying to protect their marine environment are holding an online symposium today on how to make rāhui more effective.
There are currently traditional bans imposed by Ngāti Kahu on Whangaroa Harbour in Northland, Ngāti Paoa around Waiheke Island and Ngāti Hei for the Coromandel scallop fishery.
Bianca Ranson from organiser Mauri o te Moana, who is a Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa member living on Waiheke, says all three iwi have support from the community and from recreational fishers.
But there has been no word from Fisheries Minister David Parker, despite the applications sitting on his desk since the start of the year.
"While an application under the 186A section of the Fisheries Act isn't needed in terms of a tikanga rāhui and the effects of that, what it does do is help with the enforcement of it if people are blatantly disrespecting it and our concern is that's what is happening in some of these areas," Ms Ranson says.
The rāhui hui is on the Mauri o te Moana Facebook page between 5 and 6 this evening, chaired by Mike Smith from the National Iwi Chairs Forum.
Copyright © 2021, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com