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Identifying traditional whitebait stands in the lower Waikato River – a joint spatial analysis project

TR 2013/18
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Report: TR 2013/18

Author: Brendan Morris, Brendan Morris Consulting Ltd

Co-Authors: Cheri van Schravendijk-Goodman, Julian Williams, Waikato Raupatu River Trust and Gannin Ormsby, Waikato Regional Council

Abstract

Waikato-Tainui and Waikato Regional Council undertook a joint spatial analysis project to identify and map traditional whitebait stands within the lower Waikato River. Waikato-Tainui’s primary interests are the protection of customary access to the fishery and the restoration of freshwater habitats for taonga species. While the Waikato Regional Council has multiple interests in river and catchment management in the lower Waikato River, the immediate driver for Council participating in this project is the need to meet its obligations under s. 62 of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010.

Identifying traditional whitebait stands in the lower Waikato River – a joint spatial analysis project [PDF, 4.2 MB]

Contents
  Executive summary vii
1 Waikato-Tainui and Waikato Regional Council perspectives 1
1.1 Waikato-Tainui 1
1.2 Waikato Regional Council (WRC) 1
1.2.1 Relationship with Waikato-Tainui 1
1.2.2 Whitebait stands 1
2 Rationale for collaboration 3
2.1 Waikato-Tainui 3
2.2 Waikato Regional Council 3
3 Background 4
3.1 Lower Waikato River whitebait fishery 4
3.1.1 A traditional, historical perspective 4
3.1.2 Overview of the whitebait fishery 5
3.2 Legislative and regulatory context 7
3.2.1 Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 7
3.2.2 Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) 9
3.2.3 Conservation Act 1987 10
3.2.4 Related legislation/regulations 10
3.3 Lead-up to this project 10
4 Project framework and participants 12
4.1 Project framework 12
4.2 Project participant roles and responsibilities 13
4.2.1 Project partners 13
4.2.2 Participating agencies 13
4.3 Relationship of participants to whitebait stand management and related issues 14
5 Purpose of the project 15
6 Scope 15
7 Methodology 17
7.1 Objectives 17
7.2 Initial data gathering 17
7.3 Detailed data gathering 18
7.4 Limitations 18
7.4.1 Time and budget constraints 18
7.4.2 Tidal ebb and flow and river currents 18
7.4.3 Spatially inaccurate RUAMS data 19
7.4.4 Customary fishing areas – historical vs. contemporary context 19
8 Findings 19
8.1 Total whitebait stands and location 19
8.2 Sites of significance to Waikato-Tainui 19
8.3 Whitebait stands 19
8.3.1 Ownership 19
8.3.2 Associated structures (baches) 20
8.3.3 Compliance totals 21
8.3.4 Whitebait stands and the Resource Use Authorisation Management System (RUAMS) 22
8.4 Issues identified 23
8.4.1 Whitebait stand compliance issues 23
8.4.2 Health and safety issues 26
8.4.3 Discharges to waterways 28
8.4.4 Whitebait fishery management 28
8.4.5 Definition of whitebait stands 29
9 Opportunities/next steps 30
  References 31
Appendix 1: Waikato Regional Plan and Regional Coastal Plan excerpts 32
  Waikato Regional Plan 32
  Regional Coastal Plan 33
Appendix 2: Ownership detailed maps 35
Appendix 3: Baches detailed maps 39
Appendix 4: Compliance detailed maps 43