Abstract
Marine fisheries resources sustain the social and cultural wellbeing of communities. Almost one third of the world’s fisheries are overfished. The decline or collapse of a fishery not only has significant biological effects but can also have localised socioeconomic effects on communities that rely on fisheries resources for food, income and wellbeing. There has been a move away from single species management towards an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach which considers the ecology of the target species, and takes into account socioeconomic factors. Local community management can be seen as an extension of ecosystem-based management, where the ecosystem includes the fishers who use the resource. The traditional knowledge of local communities is important in informing the management of fisheries as it accumulates over successive generations and incorporates social, environmental and cultural aspects.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional knowledge is referred to as mātauranga Māori and is a knowledge system that shapes Māori identity and centralises a Māori worldview. Mātauranga Māori informs tikanga which encompasses a set of physical and spiritual principles on which to act. Māori fishing rights were guaranteed under Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi which guaranteed rangatiratanga or authority over the use and management of fisheries resources. Restrictions or temporary closures on a fishery are referred to as rāhui, a method in accordance with tikanga that provides for kaitiakitanga (environmental guardianship) at a local scale to protect resources and restore balance back to the ecosystem. The practice of rāhui has been translated into a legal framework under Section 186A and 186B of the Fisheries Act 1996 which provides for a two-year temporary closure on a fishery.
The aim of this research was to understand whether traditional (referred to as voluntary) rāhui or legal rāhui provide for rangatiratanga, and the right to exercise kaitiakitanga. This research also aimed to identify a management tool that recognised rangatiratanga, aligned with the principles of rāhui and was recognised within a legal framework and was therefore protected by law.
Methodologically, this research was guided by Kaupapa Māori theory and utilised the qualitative methods of case study, wānanga, and semi-structured interviews with tangata tiaki/kaitiaki. One case study was situated in Whareponga on the East Cape of the North Island and investigated a voluntary rāhui. The other case study was situated in the East Otago Taiāpure (EOT) in the South Island and investigated a legal rāhui under Section 186B of the Fisheries Act 1996.
This thesis found that the voluntary rāhui in Whareponga was adaptable and provided for rangatiratanga but was not protected by the law. The legal rāhui in the EOT, on the other hand, although protected by law, was inflexible and did not provide for full rangatiratanga. However, proposed changes to fishery regulations in the EOT will provide for aspects of rangatiratanga and allow managers to exercise kaitiakitanga with the recognition of core cultural environmental management principles. These regulations will allow for a fully customary fishery that is informed by mātauranga, in accordance with tikanga and protected by law.