Keeping Watch Over Mataitai

In the last of a four-part series on mātaitai,
kaituhituhi Adrienne Rewi talks to Ngāi Tahu
communities in Rakiura and Banks Peninsula about
how they enforce mātaitai, and how Western science
and mātauranga Māori supports their work.

Pictured above: Phillip Smith (Ngāti Māmoe, Rakiura Māori) on board Wildfire in Oban harbour.
PHOTOGRAPHS Adrienne Rewi

Phillip Smith is passionate about his environment. A step into his home reveals a comfortable space embellished with collections of shells, artefacts, wildlife photographs and small, natural treasures he has plucked from his Rakiura (Stewart Island) surroundings.

Overlooking a beautiful view of the harbour and the village of Oban, Phillip (Ngāti Māmoe, Rakiura Māori), talks about the island's spirit and the close ties he feels for the place. It's that passion for his homeland that is central to Phillip's role as one of seven tangata tiaki for the Te Whaka a Te Wera Mātaitai, which covers 75 per cent of the waters around Paterson Inlet.

As the concessionaire for kiwi spotting tours in Paterson Inlet's Big Glory Bay area and the owner of Bravo Adventure Cruises, Phillip is well placed to keep an eye on the mātaitai area. Most days he is out there in his boat.

"I live and breathe this island, and that's a passion that was instilled in us as boys. We were taught that [if you] look after your resources, they will look after you. So I keep a keen eye on people and boating movements in the mātaitai area. We've had the mātaitai in place for five years and it's a good healthy reserve."

Phillip says the mātaitai tool has been working well, and the committee has worked closely with the Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) on surveillance. "We're responsible for the kaimoana here and we're very keen to make sure it is protected properly. We're in close contact with MFish officials and we keep a close watch on the area, especially during the busiest months between October and May. It's a huge area to monitor, but our honorary fisheries officer Fred Dobbins is only a phone call away, as is the local policeman. If we think something is amiss, we just call them."

He concedes there will always be some breaches, and that despite excellent signage outlining mātaitai regulations on every landing bay in Bluff, Riverton, Waikawa and Rakiura, they still have trouble with some.

"Our biggest worry is the Stabi-craft vessels from the mainland. They're very seaworthy and they can get across Foveaux Strait easily without being noticed. They come here specifically to gather seafood, and we are concerned about that in Paterson Inlet."

Reece Murphy, Ministry of Fisheries district compliance manager in Invercargill, says fisheries officers routinely carry out patrols of Te Whaka a Te Wera Mātaitai as part of the fisheries compliance surveillance and inspections programme. Officers work with the mātaitai management committee to identify compliance risks and address them.

"Fisheries officers cannot be everywhere all of the time," he says. "However, with good support and information from the community, particular risks or problems within the mātaitai can be identified and made a particular focus for fisheries officers, who make every effort to respond to reports of illegal fishing."

Although several minor indiscretions have been observed, no serious breaches have been detected since the mātaitai was established.

Before, "Paterson Inlet had been operating under some reduced bag limits introduced in the early 1990s following work by the Paterson Inlet Fisheries Working Group. Therefore, when the mātaitai was enacted, the subsequent bylaws did not result in wholesale sweeping changes to the rules. As a consequence, the transition to the new rules was relatively seamless with general acceptance by users."

Fisheries officers and inshore managers attend mātaitai management committee meetings when future management issues and strategies are considered.

"Ensuring compliance within mātaitai reserves is best viewed as a shared responsibility," says Murphy. "The relationships we all share are very constructive, and everyone has a common goal of making sure Paterson Inlet fisheries are available for future generations. While fishery officers are entrusted with the lawful authority to police the areas and enforce the rules, their best results are often achieved with the assistance of the local community and the wider general public. "We always encourage people to report any illegal fishing they see – anonymously if they wish – by calling MFish on the 0800 4POACHER hotline."

To ensure tangata tiaki have the information they need to manage their mātaitai resources, MFish has done research on various species. The first survey, in November 2006, provided baseline information on the fishery soon after mātaitai reserve bylaws were put in place. The next survey, scheduled for November 2010, will provide information on how the fishery has changed over four years.

A blue cod survey is also being carried out at regular intervals to provide a time-series of data on blue cod numbers in the inlet. This is designed to provide information on how the fishery is performing and to help assess whether some of the rules are working.

"In the next two years we're also looking to initiate a scallop survey," says Phillip Smith. "We inherited a total ban on scallop fishing put in place 10 years ago because the resource wasn't healthy. That's still in place, and we need to carry out a full assessment to see if re-opening the resource is feasible. We will also regularly re-evaluate the total ban on pāua fishing around the Bravo Islands.

"When you close one area down it puts pressure on the rest, so we need to keep an eye on that, too. Our biggest challenge will always be ensuring all species are sustainable at all times, and we're fortunate in having the local community behind us. There are a lot of people on the ground here making sure the mātaitai rules are respected."

The Koukourarata Mātaitai Committee at Port Levy on Banks Peninsula has also established sound research practices in the interests of best managing their large reserve. Graeme Grennell (Ngāi Tahu, Te Atiawa), chairman of Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata and tangata tiaki, says a research partnership with the University of Otago will help establish a catalogue of the state of the fishery resource. Work on a Community Health Index will provide the community with indicators of what they should be looking out for in the management of the mātaitai reserve.

"Our biggest challenge now is where we go from here," says Grennell, "and that will depend an awful lot upon what the research tells us.

"We have the tools to carry out the environmental management we need to focus on, but you've got to base that on both Māori lore and Western science. We know some things are in decline here, but we won't charge in without first considering the facts and figures highlighted by current research."

Dr Christopher Hepburn, a Foundation for Research, Science and Technology Te Tipu Pūtaiao Fellow from Otago University, says a major survey was done at Koukourarata last November. Eight researchers from Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai (TMK) conducted diving-based ecological surveys throughout the mātaitai in addition to interviews with local people about their perceptions of the current and past status of fisheries within the

mātaitai.

Results are being compiled before information is presented and discussed with the rūnanga in a series of hui this year. This will help researchers provide information that is relevant and accessible to kaitiaki to aid the effective management of their mātaitai.

These hui will direct further survey work and may help develop research projects that support the goals of kaitiaki. It's up to them to come up with the best plan of action for their area and people," says Hepburn.

Pāua resources are coming under great pressure from poachers and illegal over-fishing (commercial and recreational) in the southern South Island, he says, and some local populations are collapsing.

"Some kaitiaki/tangata tiaki are doing a great job in protecting pāua stocks by talking to fishers and making them aware of the rules and the presence of mātaitai or taiapure, but the problem is pretty overwhelming.

"Unfortunately we do get a lot of people coming in illegally, and many of them are our own people. I think some have the opinion that because they are Māori they can exercise their customary rights any time. Sadly, that short-term thinking is not uncommon, so it is important that we educate all people about the importance of mātaitai regulations."

MERI CROFTS Koukourarata tangata tiaki, Port Levy

There are so many people who come and go and take pāua illegally with little regard for others, or for future generations."

Meri Crofts is the only Koukourarata tangata tiaki actually based in the bay. She and her husband Charles live right in front of the endangered cockle beds, which have been under a rāhui for 10 years. For the past two years, the beds have been open for a limited weekend take by permit only in September. Despite signs on the beach, Meri has had to remind people several times not to take them.

"It can be an intimidating job," says Meri, "but I get off the beach smartly if I sense any threat. I don't put myself in a dangerous position."

Graeme Grennell says the rūnanga has had no qualms about having a woman in the role of resident tangata tiaki. "We caution all our tangata tiaki to be careful because it's not worth risking your safety; and we ask all our rūnanga members – and the wider community as a whole – to play a part in monitoring the mātaitai area. We see everyone as having a role and the community has responded very well. We are also very well supported by MFish and DoC rangers. There are never enough of them, of course, but they have been very supportive, and with ongoing education, we hope enforcement won't be needed."

Donald and Henry Couch are two of the tangata tiaki for the Rāpaki Mātaitai. They concede they have an easier task in monitoring their much smaller reserve area.

"... there will be far greater challenges ahead in monitoring the second, much larger mātaitai planned for the remainder of Lyttelton Harbour. Rāpaki is managed only by tangata whenua, but for the larger mātaitai we may have to go to other communities, as Koukourārata has done, to ensure monitoring covers a broader area."

DONALD COUCH Rāpaki tangata tiaki

"It has to be said that we are the exception because our mātaitai is the smallest and not a lot happens here," says Donald Couch.

"We check more regularly during the summer months, but beyond that I go around the rocks once a month to see how the mussels and pāua are going. The prohibition on pāua has seen a redevelopment of the stock, and we currently have a rāhui in place to protect the re-seeded cockles we brought in from Ōtākou last year."

There have been no serious rule breaches, he says. "There is still ongoing confusion over recreational and customary take and that involves constant discussion, but where permits have been taken out they haven't been abused. One of the biggest challenges ahead is for our own people. There are some who see customary fishing as being without limit, so we have to counter that with ongoing education.

"That's part of the business of customary rights, and we have to keep working on that.

"I also think there will be far greater challenges ahead in monitoring the second, much larger mātaitai planned for the remainder of Lyttelton Harbour. Rāpaki is managed only by tangata whenua, but for the larger mātaitai we may have to go to other communities, as Koukourarata has done, to ensure monitoring covers a broader area."

Donald Couch believes good communication between all tangata tiaki and MFish staff is critical to successful mātaitai management.

"I think the regional hui we've been having are a great idea. This gives tangata tiaki the opportunity to share their experiences. There are only three of us here at Rāpaki, so for us to be able to sit down with others and swap notes is very useful. I think everyone would agree on that.

"The rules are working for us, but there will inevitably be fine tuning as we – and others – go along. Ongoing debate and education are crucial to that."

Keeping Watch

Community Health Index

...development of a marine cultural health index as part of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu's State of the Takiwa Programme, which aims to have a Ngai Tahu values-based monitoring scheme in place for lakes, streams, estuaries and coastal environments. [More...]

Keeping Watch Over Mataitai

Keeping Watch

Community Health Index

Meri Crofts

Donald Couch

Inside Issue 43

Wind of your Homeland

Cyber Connections

Reo Revolution

Keeping Watch Over Mātaitai

Bi-Lingual Tamariki

Chopper Ready

Appetite for Living

Organic Gardening