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December 02, 2021
Ministry sends stern message on Waiheke rāhui
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
Posted On December 2, 2021
Download AudioA Waiheke environmentalist says a fishing ban may be too late to save some taonga species – but it’s worth trying.
From yesterday fisheries officers started enforcing the two-year ban on taking scallops, mussels, rock lobsters and pāua out to one nautical mile off the island, backing up a rāhui imposed at the start of the year by Ngāti Pāoa.
Bianca Ranson from Te Whānau o Te Moananui o Toi Te Huatahi says the iwi and the wider community feel pride in the rāhui, and its official endorsement will send a message to the million plus people living a short boat trip away in Tāmaki Makaurau.
“The majority of the community of Waiheke who are permanent residents here know that it was in place and as a tikanga rāhui and the mana that holds, they were adhering to that,” she says.
Ms Ranson says kaumātua have talked of gathering baskets full of kai in knee deep water around the island.
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