Cover Letter - Management of Oyster Reserves in the Kaipara Harbour

  Download as PDF (File Size: 15KB)

22 December 2005

Tënä Koe

IMPLEMENTATION OF TE URI O HAU OYSTER RESERVE REGULATIONS
 
Te Uri o Hau is a hapu of the northern Kaipara Harbour. Under the Te Uri o Hau Settlement Act 2002, the Crown agreed to restore to Te Uri O Hau access to traditional foods and food gathering areas. In particular, the Crown acknowledged the special association of Te Uri O Hau with six existing ‘Maori oyster reserves’ on the Kaipara Harbour.

The Crown agreed that the Minister of Fisheries would recommend new Oyster Reserve Regulations to empower Te Uri o Hau to manage customary non-commercial fishing of oysters within the six oyster reserves in the northern part of the Kaipara Harbour.

The Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) has developed the attached Initial Position Paper (IPP) as part of its normal practice of consulting on new fisheries management proposals. The paper has been developed in collaboration with the Te Uri o Hau Governance Entity during the latter half of 2005. The IPP provides you with MFish’s initial position on how it proposes to meet the Crown’s obligations to develop the oyster reserve regulations. The Te Uri o Hau Deed of Settlement listed the essential components required for the proposed regulations.

The purpose of this letter is to invite you to participate in this review process. You may have an interest in the use of oysters within or adjacent to the areas in question, and how the management framework for managing the use of oysters within the reserves is proposed.

MFish welcomes written submissions on the proposals contained within the IPP.
Written submissions are due by Tuesday, 21 February 2006 and should be posted to Kristin Philbert, Ministry of Fisheries, PO Box 1020, Wellington. Alternatively, electronic submissions can be emailed to kristin.philbert@fish.govt.nz.

A copy of the IPP will shortly be available from MFish’s website at www.fish.govt.nz.

Should you wish to receive further information about any of the proposals contained within the IPP, or wish to invite MFish representatives to a hui to discuss the proposals, please contact either:

• Stacey Whitiora, Fisheries Analyst, (09) 820 7672
• Jodi Mantle, Senior Fisheries Management Advisor, (09) 820 1990

If you would like MFish representatives to attend a hui, it would be appreciated if such a hui was held no later than 10 February 2006. This will allow participants at the hui to gather their thoughts together should they wish to make a written submission by the closing date of 21 February 2006.

Following the close of submissions on 21 February 2006, MFish will begin to compile the Final Advice Paper. This document summarises MFish, stakeholder and tangata whenua views (provided in submissions) on the IPP, and provides final advice and recommendations for each issue.

Finally, all submissions received are publicly available under the Official Information Act 1982. Should any person or organisation wish for any information contained in their submission to be withheld under the Act, the grounds for withholding the information must be provided in the submission.

Näku noa, nä


Jodi Mantle
Senior Fisheries Management Advisor