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Hokianga Accord Hui Report
Naumai
Marae
20 - 21 July 2006
In March this year Te
Arawa, in conjunction with the MFish Pou Hononga, called a hui for
interested iwi members in Rotorua. The kaupapa was wai Maori (freshwater).
Around 40 people from around the country attended the first hui
and it was hoped that northern iwi would send their representatives
to the next hui.
A Working Group had been formed and included representatives of Tamaki Makaurau, Te Arawa, Ngati Awa and Te Ati Awa. The Working Group had met four times since the March hui and had reported their findings back to the main group, with the objective of having good outcomes for all iwi.
Since the initial hui, Sam Tamarapa and Tracey Kingi had joined Graeme Morrell on the Forum. Sam is the MFish Pou Hononga for Taranaki and Tracey is an MFish Extension Officer. Both have iwi affiliations as well as their MFish obligations. In his opinion, the Ministry staff were an asset to the Forum.
Tom expects that the Freshwater Customary Forum will be fully operational within a month. Discussions to date had focussed on the health of the waterways and how to restore them so that the eel (tuna), mullet and other life returned to the rivers and lakes. The Forum also offers assistance to iwi if they are dealing with regional and local councils.
The Forum had tried to be realistic about their goals. They understood they may not achieve their goals in their lifetimes but the Forum participants were keen to get work underway to improve the waterways for their mokopuna.
Tuna (Eel) Management
Once again the hui was reminded of the mismanagement of tuna (eel). The Hokianga Accord was informed at the last hui that those involved in the customary iwi Forum regarded tuna as a ‘status fishery. See paragraph 2 on this page.
Having DoC and MFish responsible for management of the same species, at very stages of their lifecycle, made it difficult for tangata whenua to understand the management regime. It is a source of frustration that DoC control rules relating to whitebait and when it comes to eels, the Ministry of Fisheries are responsible.
Poor land management practices condoned by various local and district councils also added to the dissatisfaction felt by tangata whenua in regards to the waterways.
Hectors Dolphins
Tom is one of thirteen people on the Hectors Dolphins Advisory Group. Tom is the North Island iwi representative and Nigel Scott from Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu is the southern iwi representative.
Iwi Customary Forums
Tom Moana, Nga Hapu O Te Uru, Waikato
Nga Hapu O Te Uru customary Forum has had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) underway with the Ministry of Fisheries for six years and it still had not been finalised. The Forum was keen to complete this aspect of their development. Tom is co-chair of the Forum and has attended at least three of their meetings. Tom supports the direction of the Hokianga Accord and is keen to maintain close relationships between the Accord and Nga Hapu O Te Uru.
Recreational fishing organisations were encouraged to get involved with Nga Hapu O Te Uru. The possibility existed to duplicate a similar format to the Hokianga Accord, whereby Maori and non-Maori fishing interests would be represented by the same Forum. Currently there were separate forums, the customary iwi Forum and the North Island West Coast regional recreational fishing Forum.
Tom had spoken to Sheryl Hart recently. Sheryl is co-vice President of the NZ Recreational Fishing Council (NZRFC). Their discussion was regarding the release of live kingfish into the Raglan Harbour. Nga Hapu O Te Uru supported that initiative.
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Iwi Chairpersons
Forum
Sonny Tau,
Te Runanga A o Iwi Ngapuhi Chairman
Both Sonny and Tom
had attended a hui of all the chairpersons of iwi customary
forums.
This national hui
of iwi Forum chairmen had not been convened since early March.
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Sonny advised there were forty-one chairpersons
at the National iwi chairperson’s
hui held in Wellington during March 2006. |
He addressed the hui on Maori non-commercial
fisheries issues and received a very positive response to his
speech.
Kaimoana Regulations
Graeme Morrell, Pou Hononga, Ministry of Fisheries
Once the freshwater customary Forum was formally recognised as a freshwater Forum there would be a review of the Kaimoana Regulations that applied to the North Island [6]. Graeme advised the review could occur within the next eighteen months.
In the north, the Kaimoana Regulations only apply to the marine environment, so in practice a mataitai could not be applied to a freshwater lake in the North Island. The regulations that apply in the South Island stem from the Fisheries (South Island Customary Fishing) Regulations 1999. These regulations include both marine and freshwater environments.
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Kaipara Harbour
Peter King, Kaipara District Council Mayor
Peter enjoyed being back at Naumai marae for a day but had to leave the hui to attend another function. He felt encouraged by the numbers of people at the hui and said it was warming to know there was so much support for local management initiatives.
Peter was part of the Kaipara Harbour Sustainable Fisheries Management Study Group that had tried to instigate more meaningful management of the Harbour, for six years. He felt particularly encouraged by the information DoC and MFish had presented to the hui.
Gratitude for Hospitality
Everyone at the hui,
including John Chibnall who also had to depart the hui around
the same time, shared Peter’s expression of gratitude
to the Naumai people for their wonderful hospitality.
John is a life member
of the NZ Big Game Fishing Council (NZBGFC) and is also a
member of the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA).
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| He is very supportive of the Hokianga
Accord initiative of having Maori and non-Maori working together
on issues of importance to both groups. |
John had actively encouraged other members of the Council to get involved in the Forum, particularly those based in the Bay of Islands and other parts of Northland. As a member of the North East regional recreational fishing Forum, John was keen to have the Accord and recreational Forum working cooperatively.
Regional Recreational Fishing Forums
North Island East Coast - Richard Baker
Richard is vice President of the NZ Big Game Fishing Council and has been involved with option4 for a number of years. Unfortunately Richard had missed the last two Hokianga Accord hui due to family commitments but was pleased to share his experience of the recreational Forum with others. The East/central recreational fishing Forum (NIECRF) covers the east coast areas from Pakiri to the Bay of Plenty. Interest in the recreational Forum seems to have dropped away since its inception last year.
Peter Ellery and Kim Walshe were part of the same Forum. Both had attended previous Accord hui and had vast experience in advocating for the interests of non-commercial fishers. Also part of the group is Anthony Olsen of Ngati Tuwharetoa. Based in Matata, he has been part of the regional Forum from the outset. Louis Davis, a Ngapuhi living in Auckland, had recently resigned from the Forum. The group is keen to have more tangata whenua participating in the Forum.
The Forum had met the previous night and discussed a range of issues, one of which was the Ministry’s review of consultation procedures. The group highlighted the need for ‘true’ consultation not just an exchanging of ideas. The public wanted meaningful input into MFish processes that did not have pre-determined outcomes.
The rights reform process held in 2000, Soundings, was raised as an example of a Ministry process designed to reach a particular outcome. An unforeseen outcome of the three options to reform recreational fisheries management was the formation of option4 [7]; A group opposed to the MFish proposal but who also produced a fourth option that recognised the value of recreational fishing to the people of New Zealand.
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Shared Fisheries
Policy
The Shared Fisheries
Policy project was also discussed during the meeting. The
relationship between the policy process and what rights the
public currently had under section 21 of the Fisheries Act
1996 was discussed.
Definition of those
rights, or interests, is a central component of the Kahawai
Legal Challenge. |
| It is ironic that the Shared Fisheries Policy
process will precede the hearing of the Challenge. The High
Court hearing had been adjourned and rescheduled for November
6th. The delay was the result of the Minister and MFish’s
failure to produce their evidence on time, despite having nine
months to do so. |
Fisheries Management History
The Forum had previously been given two option4 documents by Richard:
The group seemed to be gaining some appreciation of the fisheries history and how the Ministry’s mismanagement has had a detrimental effect on people’s ability to fish for food.
Joint Forum Meeting
It had been suggested that a joint Forum meeting be convened as soon as the Shared Fisheries Policy is released. Proposed meeting date would be early September. Sonny Tau, Naida Glavish, Tom Moana, Scott Macindoe, Trish Rea and Paul Barnes would be invited to address the meeting and discuss the implications of the Ministry’s proposal. Hokianga Accord supporters were welcome to attend that meeting.
It was hoped the forums would either submit jointly on the Shared Fisheries Policy project or alternatively ask for the same things in their submissions on the policy document. The policy was due to be released mid-August so the early September date would allow for some detailed analysis of the MFish document before the joint Forum meeting.
Hokianga Accord Status
The debate surrounding the status of the Hokianga Accord was being keenly followed. There was interest within the NIECRF in the outcome of the on again/off again status of the Accord.
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Forum Agenda
Richard confirmed that MFish draft agendas for their Forum meetings. Members could add any items for discussion. MFish staff kept the minutes of the meetings.
Sonny confirmed the reason why the Hokianga Accord was so adamant about setting its own agenda was that MFish were invited to talk to the Forum on the topics that were of importance to tangata whenua and others participating in the hui.
Capacity and Mandate
The Ministry had appointed the people on the regional recreational forums and the Minister had appointed those on the Recreational Fisheries Ministerial Advisory Council (RFMAC). None of the people on these groups had a mandate to speak on behalf of the public as they had been appointed as individuals.
The capacity of the forums was more of information sharing than any decision-making role. Until mandate was sought, this limitation applied to both the Shared Fisheries Policy project, the Fisheries Plans process and any other process the Ministry wanted to carry out regarding our non-commercial fishing interests.
Aotea (Great Barrier Island) Marine Reserve
The NIECRF had agreed on a statement of position regarding the Aotea (Great Barrier Island) marine reserve. The group had sent an advice paper to the Minister of Fisheries regarding his consideration on whether to give concurrence (agreement) to DoC’s proposed marine reserve. The Minister of Conservation had already approved the application.
Bay of Plenty Mataitai
There was a brief discussion regarding the mataitai proposal for the Bay of Plenty. It was noted that no recreational representatives had been approached by tangata whenua regarding the plan. The recreational Forum would welcome the opportunity to participate in that process.
North Island
West Coast - Stuart Cameron
Stuart belongs to
the Manukau Sport Fishing Club and is also a member of the
North Island West Coast regional recreational fishing Forum.
Stuart could not
see much progress being made until there was reasonable representation
in the group and iwi involvement.
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| Ngati Whatua was encouraged to nominate
someone to represent their interests in the Forum. |
Unlike the North East Forum which originally had around 18 members that dwindled to around 10, the West Coast Forum has around six members with two or three others attending at different times. Trish Rea of option4 had attended twice, mainly to listen and ask questions of the Shared Fisheries Policy team, when they had made presentations to the group.
The Forum had been advised they could not discuss the Aotea marine reserve, as it did not fall within the boundaries of the Forum, which is Auckland west and coastal regions from the Kaipara to Mokau in Taranaki. The Forum members did not accept the ‘divide and conquer’ rule being applied to matters of mutual concern, such as the Aotea reserve process. A meeting had been scheduled for the following week where the issue would be raised again.
The need to combine forums associated with the west coast snapper stock, Snapper 8 (SNA8) had been discussed. This would involve the Northern, North East, North West and other forums south of Mokau. To date, no significant discussions on SNA8 had been held, as the major decisions had already been made during the Ministry’s sustainability round in 2005.
Northern Forum – Paul Batten
Paul Batten is a member of the Mangawhai Boating and Fishing Club. He is also part of the NZBGFC executive. Paul had been part of the Northern Forum since its inception last year. The Ministry of Fisheries did struggle to get people involved in the Forum, current membership is around 12. MFish initially budgeted for 14 people in each of the recreational forums.
Des Subritsky of Dargaville and Richard Civil from the Bay of Islands were two tangata whenua representatives on the Forum. Although the same non-mandated capacity applies to the Northern members as it does to the other recreational forums (as mentioned by Richard earlier).
MFish had been asked to supply a list of contacts of people living in the far north so Paul could contact them and ask if they wanted to participate in the Forum. Current membership only extends as far north as Doubtless Bay.
A Forum meeting was scheduled for the following week and no draft agenda had been received from MFish. Paul did not believe the forums were operating in a forthright or timely manner. He assured the Accord the Aotea issue would be discussed and endorsement would be sought from the members to support the North East Forum’s letter to the Minister of Fisheries.
The Ministry had been asked to supply a glossary of terms. Many of the Forum members seemed to be struggling with the terminology being used by MFish staff. This would assist with the understanding and the up-skilling of those involved in the discussions.
Records of meetings had improved; MFish staff was now producing minutes as opposed to notes.
Sonny requested details so he could attend the next meeting of the Northern Forum. Paul confirmed the meeting would be in the Bay of Islands the following Thursday but had not received any other details regarding venue or times.
Lorraine Hill attended the last Forum meeting. She suggested contacting the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) environmental officer. That person makes regular visits to schools and could incorporate discussion regarding the Northern Forum within those presentations. Lorraine works for the NRC and is also a member of the national fisheries advisory group (RFMAC).
Paul had requested a name change for the Forum. It is currently known as the regional recreational fishing Forum. “My mum taught me not to play with my food” so ‘recreational’ did not fit in with his fishing activity. This comment brought a round of agreement from those at the hui.
Questions were raised regarding the two Maori people on the Forum, Des Subritsky and Richard Civil, and whether MFish considered they were consulting with Maori through the Forum. Paul could not speak on behalf of MFish but did mention he had asked at every Forum about having input from customary fishers.
All members on the various recreational fisheries forums had been selected as individuals not as representatives of a particular sector or group. This contrasted with the mandated status of the Maori involved in the Hokianga Accord, i.e. Sonny has Ngapuhi’s mandate and Naida has Ngati Whatua’s.
Paul insisted that their group should be part of the Hokianga Accord and not duplicating the process. Not everyone in the northern Forum agreed with that approach. After some discussion it was agreed that people should be encouraged to participate in the Hokianga Accord and the ‘recreational’ Forums.
| [6] Fisheries (Kaimoana Customary Fishing) Regulations 1998 |
| [7] Over 60,000 people submitted on the Ministry’s process, 98.5% supported option4’s stance. |
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