Photo by Jamie Wright. Alderman Islands, Coromandel
Kia ora Friend,
It's been 24 years since the establishment of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park and 9 years since the Sea Change programme was initiated to restore the Park.
In that time tens of thousands of hours from volunteers, contractors and employees of a myriad of organisations have been invested into developing a pathway to restored abundance for our beloved Marine Park. Meanwhile, rather than wait (seemingly endlessly) our communities have led the way laying rāhui, developing restoration programmes and educating the public on how they can be more involved.
Yesterday, the Environment Select Committee concluded public hearings on the proposal to create Marine Protection Areas in the Marine Park, including 12 High Protection Areas with customary take.
A plethora of people presented, all shared their thoughts on the Hauraki Gulf/ Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. The concern that echoed was, this Bill is not going far enough. It fails to address:
-
The root causes of a loss in biodiversity and fish populations include over harvest, destructive fishing techniques and land-based pollution.
- The risk of displacement (when fishing pressure is amplified somewhere else because fishing is not allowed in one location) was reiterated time and time again.
-
The proposed High Protection Areas were not strategically placed to prevent the ongoing use of destructive fishing methods.
The quote from the hearings that best summarises the sentiment: "You are fiddling while Rome is burning".
Members of the public repeatedly addressed the Bill's failure to embody what was previously agreed upon in Sea Change (a spatial plan combined with fisheries management and iwi and community-based management).
The core frustration around Sea Change stemmed from the fact that all the stakeholders in the process unanimously agreed on this approach, yet a decade later, we are divided and debating a weak and watered down alternative.
Globally recognised scientist, Professor Simon Thrush spoke about his embarrassment on the length of time it took to form the Marine Protection Bill, likening it to a snail's pace. He emphasised the need for the Bill to go further, with the urgent need to protect the entire seafloor from bottom trawling, dredging, and Danish seining.
Ngāti Paoa displayed their mana proudly, highlighting that the proposed High Protection Areas will extinguish their rights as mana whenua to engage in their rohe moana, including participating in active restoration.
So where are we at?
Bottom trawling will continue in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park with no plan to phase it out in the 'trawl corridor' plan. When the scallop fishery re-opens, dredging could well resume. The same amount of fish will continue to be killed. Bait fish including, Jack and Blue Mackerel, will still be harvested in absurd quantities and sold for next to nothing offshore.
But wait! A dozen new High Protection Areas, a couple of Seabed Protection Areas and the extension of two Marine Reserves have been proposed as the solution.
Is this enough to restore the mauri of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park? As one of our favourite beer brands would say... Yeah Right!
After all that talk and all those plans, this is all we have to show for it. Quite frankly, it's embarrassing.