The Ahu Moana Vision

GLENN EDNEY (Marine Ecologist and Trustee of Te Wairua O Te Moananui - Ocean Spirit)

Imagine the coastal ecosystems of Aotea in 10, 20, or even 100 years’ time. What do you want them to look like? Do you want to see massive workups covering acres, kōura feelers waving above the low tide line, lush kelp forests, snapper spawning aggregations full of fat and healthy fish, schools of patrolling kingfish, and boulders full of big pāua. In other words, the stories of past generations brought to life. This is the aspirational vision of Ahu Moana. But what actually is Ahu Moana, beyond the vision? How will it function, and what contribution can it make to revitalising the mauri of Tikapa Moana – Moananui ā Toi the Hauraki Gulf?

In October 2022, following a year-long delay due to Covid 19, the first Ahu Moana pilot project was finally launched on Aotea. In a Q & A session in 2021, Local Board Chair, Izzy Fordham and Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai Ki Aotea Trust Board Chairperson, Opo Ngawaka were asked their thoughts about Ahu Moana(1).

WHAT IS AHU MOANA?

The Ahu Moana vision of community management of local marine ecosystems was developed as part of the Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari – Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan in 2017 and is one of the eight core elements of the Government’s 2021 ‘Revitalise the Gulf’ strategy(2). The word Ahu as a verb means to tend to, foster or nurture and to move in a certain direction(3). Ahu Moana therefore represents an active intent to restore the mauri of the moana, and to tend to the health of local fisheries and marine ecosystems. But Ahu Moana is also about working together, mana whenua and the wider local community, with the shared purpose of managing their local fisheries to ensure a healthy moana and access to abundant kai moana for generations to come. Just how communities can achieve this of course is another matter, and the primary objective of the pilot project.

Some of the key points that apply to Ahu moana are:

• A co-management approach between mana whenua, local communities and local and central government. 

• Ahu moana are initiated at the local level. 

• Ahu moana areas do not restrict access to the marine environment. 

• Commercial and recreational fishing are allowed in Ahu moana. 

• Fishing and other activities may be restricted by mana whenua and local communities in Ahu moana to protect fisheries or the environment. 

• Ahu moana are able to be integrated with existing (and future) fisheries and conservation instruments, such as marine reserves and marine protected areas, and mahinga mātaitai, taiāpure and rāhui within fisheries legislation. 

• Ahu moana do not affect the application of other statutory management tools to protect fisheries or the environment(4). 

The two Government Agencies tasked with enacting the Revitalise the Gulf Strategy, including Ahu Moana, are MPI and DOC. MPI Ahu Moana liaison, Phil Ross, explains MPI’s role in Ahu Moana and particularly in the pilot project. 

The pilot project

The pilot project is a collaborative community-based action research project with the aim of developing Ahu Moana into a working model that can be shared with other communities throughout the Hauraki Gulf and beyond. It is being conducted under the auspices of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust and the Aotea Local Board, with support and assistance from Phil Ross and myself. A steering group, which includes Trust representatives, local board members, kaumatua and community monitoring team members is overseeing the initial phases of the pilot. 

The first phase is primarily about proof of concept, which consists of trialling a community-based ecological monitoring method to evaluate the current state of ecological health, including important kai moana species, and sharing the results with the communities involved. This first phase has been achieved successfully. The next step is to extend the monitoring and ecological health assessments out to other locations around the island and train monitoring teams in those areas. It’s also about sharing the results so that we can have island-wide conversations about the current state of ecological health, including those kai moana species, and importantly, conversations about management options going forward. Feedback from those conversations will then inform the implementation of management actions.

Two locations were selected for the initial phase. Katherine Bay was chosen as it’s of particular importance to Tangata whenua, whilst Schooner Bay was chosen as there was already a strong community interest in Ahu Moana. One of the purposes of the pilot project is to co-develop, place-appropriate monitoring and decision making processes that can inform sound management actions. The development of the monitoring process is one of my main roles in the Ahu Moana pilot and is also part of the current PhD research I am conducting through the Māori Studies Department at the University of Auckland. Community empowerment to monitor and manage their own moana space is something I’m passionate about and have been involved with for the past twelve years, here in Aotearoa, as well as in Vanuatu and the Temotu province in the Solomon Islands(5)(6). The Hauora Moana community-based ecological monitoring process being used in the pilot project has evolved out of those experiences(7).

Hauora Moana: community-based ecological monitoring

The Hauora Moana monitoring method uses a qualitative approach to assessing the health of the survey site. Rather than running transects and counting specific species, this method uses a holistic and intuitive process to provide an overall assessment. Local knowledge and mātauranga Māori, as well as scientific ecological knowledge are utilised by the monitors to assess the current state of the site. Some aspects of this approach that help to provide an accurate assessment are the use of a variety of tohu (indicators), multiple monitors to help mitigate personal bias and shifting baseline syndrome, and a consensus process to ensure everyone's observations contribute to the final results. Observations include general health tohu, such as overall abundance and diversity of fish and invertebrate species, encrusting life and the variety and coverage of seaweeds, including the all-important ecklonia kelp forests. Important key indicator species, e.g., tāmure/snapper koura/crayfish and pāua are also assessed, along with negative impact tohu, such as kina barrens, sedimentation and of course, exotic Caulerpa.

The comments below from Shane Bowler and Jack Lewis about their experiences with using this monitoring method sum up the feedback from the monitoring teams.

The results are plotted onto an ecological health index scale, which gives an easy to understand, graphic view of the current state of the site (Ecological Health Index Comparison). Results in the green zone represent a good state of health, the yellow zone indicates an imbalance. Depending on where it sits on the yellow scale, it may need further investigation and/or management action. The red zone points to a critical state that needs to be urgently addressed.

PROGRESS SO FAR

A total of 15 survey dives have been conducted by the two monitoring teams in nine different locations. The results of these survey have provided the two communities with a good overview of the current state of their respective bays. On several occasions the two monitoring teams have hosted each other in their respective bays, which has added hugely to the sense of partnership and shared purpose. In Schooner Bay this also includes seasonal surveys throughout the year. With a full year’s worth of surveys in Schooner Bay the divers have been able to observe the natural seasonal fluctuations, which has helped develop their place-based ecological literacy. A good example of this is their deepened understanding of vulnerability of female kōura during the breeding season from June through September. As a result they have become strong advocates for seasonal closures during this critical time. A closed season is a good example of the kind of local management strategies that could be enacted through the Ahu Moana process. Other examples include: localised daily bag limits for specific species, maximum boat limits, exclusion zones or fishing technique rules. The important point is that it’s the Aotea community that decide what they would like to see happening in their moana space. 

The surveys in Schooner Bay have also given them the opportunity to experience first-hand the significant impact of exotic Caulerpa. The bay is within the Tryphena Rāhui and Controlled Area Notice (CAN), which prohibits anchoring, fishing of any kind and diving for kai moana, in effect a full no-take rāhui. changes for any changes in abundance of particular species and well as the overall health of the bay. These changes can be seen quite clearly on the ecological health index scale above. These results show a general improvement in the overall health of Schooner Bay across almost all of the indicators, which illustrates the value of  rāhui (supported by the CAN) in giving ecosystems a chance to regenerate. The biggest improvement can be seen in the status of the kōura and tāmure, two most highly prized and harvested kai moana species, both commercially and recreationally. These upward trends are positive, but fragile. A single summer holiday season of “normal” fishing pressure would erase the recovery of the last two years of closure. Food for thought!

Glenn is an ocean ecologist, underwater naturalist, professional diver, sail, teacher and author. He has been exploring the ocean and interacting with ocean life for more than 40 years. He is focused on understanding the ocean as a living system. Glenn has a Masters degree from Schumacher College and Plymouth University, UK and is currently completing a PhD with the Department of Maori Studies at University of Auckland.

Acknowledgements

Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Taumata Kaumatua, Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust Board, Aotea Local Board, The Ahu Moana Pilot Project Steering Group: Opo Ngawaka, Marilyn Davies-Stephens, Taumata Toki, Izzy Fordham, Chris Olivier, Kathy Titore, Gray Lewis, Shane Bowler and Phil Ross. And the awesome monitoring teams from Katherine Bay and Schooner Bay.

References

1. https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/media/ecabrpyj/ahu-moana-what-is-it-and-what-might-it-mean-for-aotea.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2EsxfhvPSKe7ObEbmFjVR0QSrhkyZK-TcvAfHIg2t74P4nxnxxosLJeSg

2. Revitalising the Gulf – Government action on the Sea Change Plan (2021) https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/45550-Revitalising-the-Gulf-Government-action-on-the-Sea-Change-Plan 

3. https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?&keywords=ahu#:~:text=1.,%2C%20foster%2C%20nurture%2C%20fashion

4. Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari – Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan (2017) https://gulfjournal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/5086-SCTTTP-Marine-Spatial-Plan-WR.pdf

5. Edney, G. (2012). Honouring Traditonal Ecological Knowledge: A qualitative approach to assessing the health of marine ecosystems. MSc Thesis, Schumacher College and Plymouth University. https://glennedney.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/honouring-traditonal-ecological-knowledge-sm.pdf

6. Johnson, J. E., Welch, D. J., Hooper, E., Moore, B., Edney, G., & Waterhouse, J. (2018). Community Marine Monitoring Toolkit: Vanuatu. Educational Training manual. 104. https://www.spc.int/DigitalLibrary/Doc/CCES/RESCCUE/Vanuatu/RESCCUE_Vanuatu_Community_Marine_Monitoring_Toolkit_2018.html (Prepared under the Restoration of Ecosystem Services and Adaptation to Climate Change (RESCCUE) Vanuatu project for the Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea, New Caledonia (104pp))

7. Hauora Moana: Community-based Monitoring of local marine ecosystems. (2020) Te Wairua o te Moananui – Ocean Spirit Charitable Trust. https://glennedney.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/hauora-moana-monitoring-guidlenes.pdf