KIA ORA KOUTOU
Welcome to the new Te Korowai o Te Tai o Marokura newsletter via our updated website. We are eager to continue to improve how we engage with the community. Within this forum we hope to update all more regularly and keep in touch with our mahi. Do share our link with your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our Te Korowai updates.
COVID 19
Te Korowai members hope you and your whanau are well and coping as best you can in your bubbles with COVID 19. This time has been very surreal. It has been difficult for many to be away from their loved ones. However, it has also been a happy time where families have been able to spend quality time together.
We sincerely thank the leadership that has been shown to help New Zealand cope with Covid 19. We thank all those essential workers for all their hard work, dedication and support during this difficult time – we cannot thank you all enough.
For our coastal space - Tangaroa’s realm, let’s celebrate that Covid 19 is enabling our ocean to replenish. Our Kaikoura marine waters are still recovering after the Kaikoura earthquake, hence Covid 19 is not all doom and gloom.
We are a small country with fantastic people. We are sensible. We are courageous. We will get through this. We need to continue to be kind. Stay home and stay safe.
Kia Kaha whanau.
Information you may need is available at: www.covid19.govt.nz
MESSAGE FROM TE KOROWAI CHAIR
I am writing this message from my home office during lockdown. I feel that this time is particularly difficult for many Kaikoura residents who are still trying to find normality since the 2016 earthquakes. Kaikoura residents and visitors are still finding our way of life restricted with ongoing closures on our coastline.
During this time, I would like to thank our wonderful local MPI crew, who have been working throughout lockdown. Stay safe, and thanks for looking after our coastline. Many thanks also to other essential workers who have kept our community operating during this time.
We welcome four new members around the table for 2020. We have Heath Melville, principally representing ECan but also a local surfer and member of Kaikoura Forest & Bird; Sabrina Luecht, who founded Kaikōura Wildlife Rescue and is involved in many local conservation efforts; Marty Sullivan from the Kaikoura Boating Club; and our new Treasurer, Peter Sutton. We thank all our present members for their time and resources.
In terms of our coastline reopening, I hope to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Te Korowai, on behalf of the Kaikoura Marine Guardians have been in discussions with MPI to lead the consultation on the potential re-opening of the paua fishery. The community needs to consider what restrictions they would like to see going forward. Do we use opening regimes from other countries? Special area closures? A phased or staggered approach? Or other local management options? The community really needs to start thinking about how these fisheries could look, and what we can live with going forward. Consider if reopening the entire fishery is sustainable, or what other options could work. The other issue for our community is the collection of kina. This is also been a topic for discussion with MPI, and we will report on this when more information is available.
UPDATE ON TE KOROWAI CEO ROLE
We thank Dr Sharyn Goldstien for her work as Te Korowai CEO in 2019. Sharyn has now stepped down and the CEO role will become the executive committee with powers to act, which includes the Chair, Administrator, Treasurer, and one other member named as CEO to steer the executive committee. All functions will continue as normal with a focus in 2020 on:
Funding proposals.
Development of Te Korowai direction for full member discussion.
Submission lead (submissions require full member input, but members work with one of the executive team during development of the submission).
Consultation and project lead (where extra community consultation and coordination is required beyond normal round-table submission process). These projects will have dedicated funding so will not come out of the operational funds necessarily.
MEET NEW TE KOROWAI MEMBERS
Sabrina LuEcht
Sabrina is a wildlife biologist with over fifteen years of wide-ranging theoretical and practical experience in New Zealand and internationally, specialising in endangered species management. Sabrina has a strong commitment to conservation - to conserve, promote and sustainably manage endemic species and important biodiversity sites. She has worked extensively in research, animal husbandry, captive breeding programmes, wildlife rehabilitation, legislation, strategic planning, project coordinating, digital marketing, outreach and education. In 2017 Sabrina founded Kaikoura Wildlife Rescue, rescuing and rehabilitating injured and ill native birds, particularly seabirds. With New Zealand classed as the seabird capital of the world, and Kaikoura being New Zealand's seabird hotspot, her focus is to educate and inform the public on marine ecosystem threats and hopefully inspire change re environmental awareness. Locally, Sabrina is affiliated with the Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust, Banded Dotterel Study Kaikoura, Forest & Bird Kaikoura and Love The Lyell. As a representative member of Te Korowai she represents the conservation sector, with a focus on both environmental and community well-being.
Heath Melville
Heath is a Biodiversity Officer at ECan, whose focus is on working with the community to protect and enhance freshwater ecosystems and the bush remnants often bordering them. He embraces his opportunities to engage with the unique biodiversity and landscapes that make our community unique, while recreational pursuits around Kaikoura's surf and alpine ranges have helped shaped his deep appreciation and empathy for nature since. “It is our responsibility to do what we can to protect species from further decline and I'm happy to be in a position where I can assist in achieving that through collaboration, utilising local and expert knowledge at Environment Canterbury and through Te Korowai.
CHECK OUT OTHER TE KOROWAI WEB PAGES
We have created additional links on our website:
Te Korowai Partners
You will find information and updates from Kaikoura Marine Guardians and the newly formed Fish Mainland recreational community fishers group.
Links to other organisations
The name says it all, useful info from other like minded fantastic groups and organisations.
2020 MEETING DATES FOR TE KOROWAI & KAIKOURA MARINE GUARDIANS
TE KOROWAI KAIKOURA MARINE GUARDIANS
4 May 5 May
8 June
6 July
10 August 11 August
7 September
5 October
9 November 10 November
COMMUNITY BASED PAUA RECOVERY EDUCATION PROJECT
This project is funded primarily by the ‘Earthquake Recovery Work’ Fund which was an arm of the ‘Sustainable Farming Fund’ operated by Ministry of Primary Industries. The project started in September 2017 and is due to be completed in October 2020. In addition to MPI, the project is co-funded by Paua 3 Industry Association Incorporated.
The major focus of the project is using aquaculture to enhance local paua populations that have been severely impacted by the effects of the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. The community has been engaged through multi-level syllabus for secondary school education, presentations to key Runanga entities and by providing aids to tertiary education projects.
As some of you may have noticed we are occupying the un-utilised ‘Old Wharf Lockers’ on Avoca St. This has been a great facility provided by the Kaikoura Council free of lease charges for the term of the project. This location has limitations but we are working through these, and simply put there were very few other options. The plant was operational with very little effort and has current resource consents.
Staffing is very important and I’m happy to say that the project is operating very well. From the start of the project I was selected by the ‘Steering Committee’ as Project Manager. For the first two years I tried to do too much solo. However we now have spread the work load and increased project awareness. Together with Rachel Vaughan employed as Project Coordinator there is increased organisation. We have recently employed Robert Paul Wolf, PhD whose doctorate work involved spawning Polychaete (marine worms) species. Paul has introduced a lot of intellectual property into the project and has more good ideas for direction. While Paul’s work on Polychaete species spawning was with different species, there are certain parallels for this project making his knowledge invaluable. Paul is currently working at the old wharf facility in a solo capacity as we are operating at minimum levels under MPI essential service practices. We have approximately 15000 juvenile paua ready for release in the near future.
It is intended that the project explore the benefits of enhancement in various life cycle stages of paua. This includes release 7 days post fertilisation. The benefits will mainly be concluded on cost effectiveness. There is nice interactions with this project and the work that David Schiel is conducting through University of Canterbury and secondary school education.
Recently in term 1, myself and Paul have been delivering syllabus to Years 9 & 10 students at the Kaikoura High School. We have been able to coordinate field trips with University of Canterbury to study transect survey techniques in the field.
Community participation has grown well in the operation of this project over the last year. We have achieved much more in the last 6 months than the first two years. Special thanks to the following for their contributions:
Rachel Vaughan, Paul Wolf, Jack Van Berkel, Mike and Antonia Radon, John Tait, Jo Fissenden, Cassandra Kitt, Paul Threadgill, Sara Beardmore, Sharyn Goldstien, Darren Kerei Keepa, Larnce Wichman, Geoff Basher, Steve Vaughan, Phil Richardson, Martin Pattison, Shawn Gerrity, Tommaso Alestra.
CLOSURE OF KAIKOURA FISHERIES
The extended closure came into effect on 20 November 2017. It applies to the existing closed area from Marfell’s Beach (west of Cape Campbell) to the Conway River (which sits south of Kaikōura township), extending 4 nautical miles from shore and is closed to the gathering of shellfish and seaweed – excluding rock lobster and scampi, and applies to both recreational and commercial fishers.
We still ask people who are fishing outside our closed area to fish responsibly in these other areas. People should take only take what they need and fish for a feed, not to fill the freezer.
We also want people to try to reduce the amount of small fish they catch. It is these small fish that are the future of the fishery and will help rebuild surrounding populations. If they are catching small fish we suggest they try a different method, use bigger hooks or move to a different location. People should also take special care when returning any small fish they catch to the water. These fish should be returned immediately with a minimum of harm.
MPI compliance officers are always happy to talk to people interested in knowing more about the rules and what fishers can do to minimise their impact on the recovery of the marine environment.
The new closure will remain in place until such time as ongoing monitoring of the area suggests abundance has rebuilt to the point where sustainable harvesting can occur.
During the closure, more scientific studies will be carried out to measure the impacts of the quake, monitor recovery progress, and help us decide when the fishery might be re-opened.
More information about the fisheries closure and the Kaikōura earthquake response is available on the MPI website:
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/protection-and-response/responding/adverse-events/kaikouraearthquake/
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT OUR CLOSED FISHERIES AREAS
Losing these fishing grounds has put more pressure on neighbouring areas. If you fish around Marlborough and Canterbury, you can help our fisheries recover by:
Limit your catch. Just take enough for a taste! Don’t take the maximum you are legally allowed. These areas are already feeling the impact of the extra fishing that has occurred because of our Kaikōura closure.
Change your fishing method(s) or area if you’re only catching small fish.
Taking special care to return undersized fish immediately and with minimum harm.
Report suspicious or illegal activity to MPI on 0800 4 POACHER.
Check the fishing rules in your area. http://bit.ly/2mrbuRR
Check out NIWA New Zealand for information about scientific surveys from the past year.
Check out the latest research from the Kaikōura Earthquake Marine Research Public Presentation on 27 June 2018. Information available on the Te Korowai website.
Share this information so everyone knows what is going on and how they can help.
We need everyone to take responsibility and to be good Kaitiaki (Guardians) of our coastal marine areas. We want abundance for our future generations, our kids. We all need to be responsible.
