Pou Hononga and extension capacity

Pou Hononga manage the Ministry/tangata whenua relationship at the regional level. This includes assisting the flow of information and working closely with the Ministry's Senior Fisheries Management Advisors in the region so the advisors and other Ministry business groups, as appropriate, can engage with tangata whenua at appropriate times.

The primary mechanism for building relationships with iwi and hapu is through regional fisheries forums established and organised by the Pou Hononga. A key idea behind regional fisheries forums is to facilitate the development of a common policy and management approach to fisheries matters for the region. If participating representatives of the iwi and hapü are well prepared the forums can focus on the larger more significant issues of common interest for the region. To assist in this, the longer term plan is for each region/forum to have an extension support capacity to assist hapü and iwi representatives in undertaking their role, including identifying their hapü's key objectives and how they might be achieved, and helping them with any concerns they may have so that as many issues as possible can be resolved outside of the forum hui. The Ministry will initially employ extension officers. Once the forums and governance arrangements across the iwi and hapü are established the extension support capacity could be contracted directly by the forum to assist the designated iwi/hapü representatives.