Reserves afford protection for
our marine environment. Although marine reserves are a relatively new way
of preserving marine ecosystems, the concept of "no-take" areas has
a long history in New Zealand.
Rahui is a traditional
Maori technique where part of the sea becomes a temporary no-take zone to allow
the area's fisheries to rebuild. Rahui is a tool tangata whenua can request for
two-year closures in areas where fisheries are depleted. For long-term
closures, mataitai reserves
and taiapure can be established in areas that have been traditionally important
to Maori.
The difference between marine reserves and mataitai reserves? Marine
reserves are established to protect specific ecosystems and mataitai reserves
are managed for customary fishing purposes. Even though the goals are
different both management techniques can complement one another and both offer a
way to control overfishing.
Marine
Reserves
Marine Reserves offer the
greatest legal protection available to areas that have been deemed important to
preserve from a national perspective--either for their unique characteristics or
for their representative qualities. Our first Marine Reserve was
established in 1975 (Goat Island-Leigh) under the Marine Reserves Act in 1971.
There are now 31 marine reserves
that are managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
This accounts for
7.5% of our
territorial waters. Under the Government's Biodiversity Strategy 2000
the goal is to have 10% of our marine environment protected by 2010.
Our marine
reserves are like underwater national parks. You can look, learn and enjoy but
are not allowed to disturb or remove anything, including fish, shellfish, rocks
or shells. The goal of establishing marine reserves is to create a network of
marine protected areas to help retain the full diversity of marine species,
habitats and ecosystems for current and future generations.
Mataitai
Reserves
A mätaitai reserve allows tangata whenua to manage
local non-commercial fisheries, in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries.
Controls on non-commercial fishing within mätaitai reserves must apply equally
to all people with only one exception: if a reserve is closed for general
harvesting, the Tangata Kaitiaki may approve the taking of seafood to meet the
needs of the marae belonging to the tangata whenua of the reserve.
Mataitai reserves have been
established on both the North and South Islands. In 2005 reserves were
established at Hawke Bay, Raukokore (East Cape) and over part of the Mataura
River in Southland. Previous to that there were only three in existence
one at Paterson Inlet on Stewart Island and two others around the Banks
Peninsula on the South Island.
Most scientists agree it
is too early to tell the impact of the newly established customary fisheries
management practices--mataitai reserves, taiapure and rahui--on the marine
environment. However, a temporary "no-take"
closure at Kaikoura led to an increase in the size and number of paua and booboo
stocks.
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2 - 9 March 2008
