After years of work and legal battles, five new marine reserves are about to open along the Otago and South Canterbury coast, protecting some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most endangered species.
These “no-take zones” – located between the Waitaki River down towards Milton – mark an historic partnership between Ngāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai who will share decision-making power over them.
Edward Ellison, head of Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, the local representative of Ngāi Tahu, said the marine environments contain special elements that are important to the iwi.
'Hugely significant': Ngāi Tahu, DOC celebrate five new marine reserves - Watch on TVNZ+
“There's a canyon… there's coastal reefs, marine mammals – just such a variety of species there. But it's also the connection to us in terms of our customs and our history, and we couldn't be separated from them, so the importance of us, we remain as a part of them forever going forward.”
Iwi members, DOC staff, and officials, including Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, attended a special ceremony held today at Ōtākou Marae, Dunedin, to launch Te Au Roa o Te Rakihouia (The Long Wake of Te Rakihouia) – the network of the five marine reserves named for the first human to journey the east coast of Te Waipounamu, according to Ngāi Tahu traditions.
The reserves cover over 300 square kilometres of Otago's coastal marine area and from July 1, all fishing, harvesting, and mineral extraction will be prohibited.
Historic partnership between Conservation Department and iwi to protect endangered species. (Source: 1News)
Gabe Davies, operations manager for the Department of Conservation, said it’s been over a decade of effort, from a forum process in 2014, recommendations to government in 2018, public consultation, and finally, to this point today.
“It's been a huge process that's involved the community. We're at a point now where we're able to celebrate what are essentially national parks of the sea – five new marine reserves. This nearly doubles the amount of marine protection of this kind across all of Aotearoa. It's hugely significant.”
More importantly, he said, there is a formal co-management system in place with Treaty partners Ngāi Tahu.
“We're designing what this looks like, we're going to implement what this looks like together from the beginning. With Kāi Tahu, I think the exciting part, that is... it's like a rope: one strand alone is strong, but when you add different perspectives, different cultural views, mātauraka (traditional knowledge) it strengthens that strand and it only enhances the work and makes it more dynamic.”
It is being hailed as a new model of partnership. As well as shared governance, a team of DOC and Ngāi Tahu rangers will carry out-day-to day management and monitoring of the protected areas.
Ellison said they will be “hands-on with wet feet”.
“We do have rangers employed to work, dive, research, monitor, build that picture that we need to understand around the marine reserves. We'll have wānaka (forums) and of course naming the reserves – we have the narratives that go with that. We're able to access and retrieve kōiwi tangata (human remains) [and] marine mammal remains if they occur on our coast.
“It's very integrated, so the key to it with the whole set of marine reserves was the fact that we remain connected.”
Davies said the marine reserve status is the highest level of protection available within Aotearoa.
"What this does is this provides for five areas that are unique - and it's not all of the coastline – and what it's doing is it's giving these areas a breather to be able to thrive and be there for generations to come.
"That's hugely significant in terms of kaitiakitaka (guardianship), rakatirataka (authority) for Kāi Tahu, and we're lucky to play a part in that as Department of Conservation, so that we have a thriving marine environment for generations to come in what is the wildlife capital of New Zealand."
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said he is “firmly supportive” of working together in order to uplift the environment for the next generation.
When asked if he thought co-governance arrangements remain a challenging concept for some people to grasp, he said “co-management” had its place.
“I think people have acknowledged co-management in a variety of areas, whether [that’s] Taranaki Maunga or the Whanganui River, and now here.
"And the ultimate prize is making sure that the government is not involved in every single thing that's going, that sometimes we can work with local community groups, with iwi, with others, with marae to actually do really positive and proactive things for the planet and for the people.”
The boundaries of a sixth marine reserve are being reconsidered following a legal challenge by the Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association.
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