CRESA meeting on the Marine Environment

and Protection Meeting Report

24 March 2004

Meeting held in Whangarei, Northland, on 24th March 2004

A Wednesday afternoon meeting at the DOC office in Whangarei and only three fishers turned up. I won’t mention names but will acknowledge the valuable contribution made by a member of the Kamo Club fishing section, a member of the Whangarei Coastguard and a member of option4. There were no DOC staff present and the meeting was staged to avoid an ‘us and them’ atmosphere.

Background

The Centre for Research, Evaluation and Social Assessment (CRESA) has been contracted by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to find out more about the public's views on the coastal and marine environment and marine protection issues. As part of this research they are talking with community groups in Nelson, Northland and Auckland. 

CRESA is holding a focus group with recreational fishers to talk about these issues. They said our views will help DOC to better understand the public's interests and expectations in relation to the marine environment. This, we were told is not a consultation process, it is an information gathering exercise.

It seems that they had planned to have a focus group meeting with representatives from Northland Iwi but then along came the foreshore and seabed debate and that made it too hard.  DOC has told CRESA that they will be developing a consultation strategy with Iwi and it may take some time. I guess they know they will get an earful about customary title, confiscation and kaitiakitanga. Maybe it is time DOC fronted-up to some of these hard issues.

Values

We were asked:

• what we thought the marine environment was
• what was special about it
• was there a defining moment or event that made us like the sea
• describe a place that was special to us
• what did it used to be like

So we talked about the marine environment being where salt water was, but also how what we do on the land in the catchment behind the coast can have a huge impact on our estuaries and beaches and water quality.

The sea provides shellfish and fish and also an ever changing playground for swimming boating and relaxing. 

Beyond the coastal fishing is blue water encounters with some of the big fish that get the heart racing. We may try and catch tuna or marlin but by being there we get to observe all species: sunfish, sharks, manta rays, seabirds, whales and dolphins. 

Hen and Chicks was a special place you could go there and find sheltered water and relax but also that the excitement, the thrill of catching a heavy fish. In the good old days there used to be more fish.

There used to be many acres of school fish on the surface with thousands of dolphins feeding under a cloud of seabirds on summer mornings off Cape Rodney in 1960s and early 1970s.

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Threats

Again starting in general discussion:

• what is a healthy environment like
• what is a poor environment like
• what sort of behaviour damages those values

We talked about some of the changes seen in the harbours like Whangarei:  Siltation, loss of sea grass, less fish and shellfish. Mangroves were a threat (probably a symptom rather than a cause) we didn’t like the mangroves spreading like they do. 

We talked about biodiversity being made up of the hundreds of species in an area and not just the few highly mobile species targeted by non commercial fishers (Snapper, kingfish, kahawai). 

There is a difference when you talk about threats to the physical marine environment and threats to the fish which are a renewable resource. Scallop dredges and trawl gear damage the environment and the plants and animals that attach to the seabed, they destroy the humps and hollows and hiding places for small fish and make the area less attractive for large fish. 

Indiscriminate fishing methods were threatening the fish stocks.  Set netting commercial and recreational especially close to reefs catch and kill a wide range of slow growing resident fish.  Trawlers catch and kill most of what is in their path.

There was mention of the Coast Watch TV programme and the sort of behaviour that threatens our marine resources. 

We also discussed having a boarder view of all incidental mortality and illegal take. It was wrong to take in excess of your bag limit but at the same time a trawler can tow for 3 hours catch and kill hundreds of juvenile snapper etc and quite legally turn around and tow right back over the same area and repeat the carnage. 

Solutions

The discussion turned to:

• what we could do to improve or protect the marine environment
• which organisations were responsible
• what mechanisms were available
• what was the role of the community
• what individuals could do etc…

Moving the indiscriminate fishing methods further offshore, protecting habitat important to juvenile fish, reducing illegal take and incidental mortality, recreational and commercial were all discussed. There were a range of protection methods, trawl lines, Taiapure, Mataitai and even marine reserves.

Reserves were only for the top end maximum protection of the very special or fragile places. There may be a range of other options that would suit other areas. Giving people a chance to participate in marine surveys and contribute to a better marine environment helps to raise awareness and education.

Most non commercial fishers were responsible and tried to do the right thing, come down hard on those that did not. TV programmes the likes of Coast Watch could spread the message fishing clubs and national organizations can influence fisher behaviour.

What was not discussed

We were not asked:

• what we thought of marine reserves
• how they were established
• what their objectives were
• how should we manage them

And we were not asked:

• what we thought of DOC
• how they perform
• what their problems were
• or what they must do better

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