An update on Marine Protection in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana/ Te Moananui-ā-Toi

SHAUN LEE

Shaun is a regular visitor to Aotea who works on environmental issues affecting the environment. He is a diver, designer and photographer who worked on the last four State of the Gulf Reports.

Nearly seven years ago the Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari, New Zealand’s first marine spatial plan was launched. The marine protection directives within that plan called for a review of the way fish populations in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (HGMP) are managed, with the goal of banning all bottom impact fishing by 2025, establishing 13 new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – plus extending two existing ones, and establishing novel Ahu Moana marine areas which would provide for joint mana whenua and community management(1). The Department of Conservation (DOC) and Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) were to assess these non-binding directives by 2017. However, this did not happen until June 2021 when Revitalising the Gulf(2), a package of integrated marine conservation and fisheries management actions to improve the health of the Gulf was launched. A key part of this strategy is the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan, which is New Zealand’s first area specific fisheries plan. While this plan was signed off by the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Willow-Jean Prime, in August of 2023, consultation on the most contentious part ‘bottom fishing access zones’ (trawl corridors) continued, with submissions closing in December 2023. Here we look at these proposed actions and what is being proposed for protecting the moana around Aotea Great Barrier Island?

The Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan

The Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan(3) is short on specific actions. The former Minister has made just one set of decisions since the plan was put in place, recommending increases in take for kina and gemfish(4). However, an increase in kina removal does not address the cause of kina barrens i.e. removal of kina predators, and so will not address the issue of kelp forest loss at Aotea and elsewhere in the Gulf. Restoration of the kelp forests and the sea life associated with them requires greater protection for the large predators, such as tāmure/snapper and kōura/crayfish, that were once abundant in these reef ecosystems. Based on these early Ministerial decisions of increased catches and ‘fishing further down the food chain’ many of us don’t hold a lot of hope for a plan, which still allows bottom trawling and Danish seining to continue, albeit limited to ‘trawl corridors’(5).

Impact of bottom fishing on the benthic surface (Credit: Shaun Lee)

MARINE TRAWL CORRIDORS

I was involved in helping with the modeling for the ‘trawl corridors’ but have been very critical of the decisions made and like nearly all the submitters have supported Option Zero – no bottom trawling or Danish seining in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

All of the options proposed will allow some recovery of the seafloor habitat, but this may take many decades. However, recovery may be faster around Aotea where the water quality is much better than that of the inner Gulf. The decision to allow trawling in corridors to the east of Aotea, upwards of 90 times a year, will be very damaging(6)

An additional concern is the spread of exotic caulerpa by this fishing practice. While all proposed options move trawling to two nautical miles out from Aotea, the depth of water at this distance is less than 50 m in a few spots, where potentially caulerpa could grow(7).

Legasea have done a great job campaigning for Option Zero(8) and a reduction in Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) but the corridors do not come with any changes to the TACC so fishers are likely to just change fishing methods that will result in further depletion of stock. I doubt moving the sites where trawling continues will result in an immediate surge in fish abundance around Aotea, as some tāmure/snapper look to be suffering from malnutrition. Dr Mark Morrison suggested that the Gulf would reach a carrying capacity for tāmure much lower than the original biomass because “we have degraded the benthic habitats they rely on”(9).

The four ‘trawl corridors’ proposed by Fisheries New Zealand

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

Another key aspiration of Sea Change was the establishment of a number of marine protection areas (MPAs). In the 2021 Revitalising the Gulf, 19 marine protection areas were proposed: extensions to two current marine reserves, and establishment of 12 High Protection Areas (HPAs) and 5 Seafloor Protection Areas (SPAs). Although there were no MPAs suggested for Aotea Great Barrier in the Sea Change Marine Spatial Plan, there was a specific management action recommendation that “By 2018, identify any gaps in the MPA network with specific attention to Waiheke Island and Aotea – Great Barrier Island. Establish further MPAs if required.”

The Sea Change Stakeholder Working Group (SWG) was approached by community representatives from Aotea seeking that MPAs be included on Aotea Great Barrier but because the SWG also heard conflicting views and concerns at not being consulted regarding these proposals it was considered more appropriate for the location of MPAs for the two islands to be decided by those communities as part of the implementation of Sea Change. This did not happen.

Waiheke Island residents took matters into their own hands, with one group proposing a rāhui and another proposing a marine reserve. The Friends of the Gulf are campaigning for their proposed marine reserve, Hākaimangō-Matiatia (NW Waiheke)(10), to be included in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill.

MPAs proposed by *Revitalising the Gulf*. Source: New Zealand Geographic(10). Note: a correction has been made to the original figure clarifying that fishing is not allowed in the Cable Protection Zone

Legislation to establish these Marine Protection Areas was initiated in 2023, through the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill(11). This bill passed its first reading in the house with support from all political parties and will now be considered by the Environment Select Committee under the new government. However, the coverage of protection falls well short of the Hauraki Gulf Forum’s goal of 30%(12) with only 6.3% of the marine park likely to be protected to International Union for Conservation of Nature standards(13). Aotearoa New Zealand is a signatory to the United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework 2030 where it commits to protecting 30%(14) of the marine and coastal environment yet currently sits at just 0.4%. Our government has a responsibility to support marine protection on Aotea if the community asks for it.

When the government finally did respond to Sea Change in 2021, their plan acknowledged that communities were seeking greater marine protection for Aotea Great Barrier Island, but offered no resources or leadership. However, they did offer some assistance with the establishment of an Ahu Moana pilot.

AHU MOANA

Sea Change proposed a novel marine protection idea. Ahu Moana marine areas would be localized, near-shore, co-management areas along the entire length of the Hauraki Gulf and its islands. They would extend from mean high water springs (the high tide mark) out 1 km. The idea was picked up by the Aotea Great Barrier Local Board which promised further community engagement on the Ahu Moana approach in its 2020 Local Board Plan(15). Feedback on the idea was overwhelmingly positive and the wording has been kept in the draft 2023 plan. Fisheries New Zealand promised to help with Ahua Moana in its response to Sea Change in 2021, however exotic caulerpa was found on Aotea the same month and progress seems to have stalled. Because the 1 km limit was not sufficient to provide good protection for kōura/crayfish(16) the Ahu Moana concept has not been championed by those seeking to restore kina barrens. However, that protection comes with the proposed rāhui, which extends 3 nautical miles into the moana. In October 2022 the first Ahu Moana pilot was launched at Aotea, under the guidance of Glenn Edney. For more detail on this visionary concept see accompanying article by Glenn in this issue.

THE RĀHUI

The temporary fisheries closure (rāhui) of Aotea and nearby islands (Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island, the Mokohinau Islands, Simpson Rock and Horn Rock) proposed by Motairehe Marae Trust and Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea iwi trust board(17) could really help. Although I have provided support for this rāhui, as has the Aotea Great Barrier Environmental Trust, it will not have the greater benefits to the fishery that will come with a MPA. With the recent change in government and a new Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, a decision on this rāhui is not expected till late summer.

WHERE TO FROM HERE

Despite the added complexity that has come with the exotic caulerpa incursion this biosecurity problem has not reduced the need for more marine protection on Aotea Great Barrier Island. The previous government’s weak response to Sea Change has left the island with little support for generating change.

MPA’s have a role to play in protecting large animals which make a major contribution to ocean productivity.

Adult tāmure/snapper within the Leigh Marine Reserve were estimated to contribute 10.6% of newly settled juveniles to the surrounding 400 km2 area, with no decrease for up to 40 km outside the reserve(18).

The landmark Environment Court ruling in 2019 allowing the Bay of Plenty Council to impose a fishing exclusion zone around Motiti Island following the MV Rena disaster, has paved the way for regional councils to protect indigenous biodiversity from the effects of fishing in their Coastal Management Plans (CMP)(19). Auckland Councils CMP is in the current Unitary Plan, which runs until 2026. In their submission on the proposed marine protection areas(20), Auckland Council said:

“The marine protected areas proposed in this consultation, and future release of the finalised Fisheries Plan, should provide certainty to support Auckland Council in considering fisheries controls in future reviews of the Auckland Unitary Plan, as enabled by the Motiti decision. It is likely that this will be considered in 2026”

— Auckland Council

As the Coastal Management Plans only last for 10 years they are a bit more like a long rāhui than a Marine Reserve. But they comply with The International Union for Conservation of Nature marine protection standards. Such areas have been dubbed by some as RMA Protection Areas, after the legislation that created them. In Northland, the regional council have effectively upgraded an area that had a rolling rāhui that protected finfish, and protected another area from bottom trawling. The protections were fought by commercial and recreational fishing advocates – yes Legasea fought a trawling ban(21). They did this on principle – Legasea are not an Environmental Group – there main concern is availability of fish to catch. The tool is useful but cannot be used to protect an area for fisheries reasons. If you want to protect large, old productive fish this is not the tool to use. Rather it is the Fisheries Act. However, if you want to protect an area from the effects of fishing for another reason, say for a citizen science project, a cultural reason or even if you just think a lush kelp covered reef full of fish just looks better than a kina barren – you can ask Auckland Council to protect it. But it won’t be easy, just the like MPAs proposed for the Gulf and the RMA Protection Areas sought elsewhere in Aotearoa it will likely be opposed by Legasea and commercial fishing organisations.

If you’re thinking about rāhui, Ahu Moana, a RMA Protection Area or the next wave of long term marine protection for the Gulf – I urge you to get out there and document what’s there. Start a journal, log stuff on iNaturalist.nz, make observations, share them and write them down. Because if there is one thing we have learnt – marine protection for Aotea won’t just happen by itself.

References