Media Release for Tiritiri Matangi Marine Reserve
by Tiri Action Group
14 February 2003
A proposal by the New Zealand Underwater Association (NZUA) to establish an expansive no-take marine reserve that will include Shag Rock, Shearer Rock, Tiritiri Matangi Island, Tiri Channel and a substantial portion of Whangaparaoa Peninsula, including Wellington Reef, Army Bay and Okoromai Bay, is causing controversy and generating concern within many sectors.
Iwi, marine safety groups, boat clubs, fishing clubs, North Shore and Whangaparaoa businesses, those lobbying for a coordinated marine reserves strategy and even divers themselves are joining forces to oppose or modify the reserve proposal.
NZUA released its proposal document, a glossy 12-page colour brochure funded by the Department of Conservation, in mid-December, and has given stakeholders until the 28th of February to respond. This date represents the close of the non-statutory submission process designed to ascertain the level of support or opposition for the reserve. If there is overwhelming opposition NZUA will discontinue its application, although this is unlikely to happen because NZUA has aligned with Forest and Bird and its membership is expected to generate a significant supporting response.
Rex Smith, spokesperson for Tiritiri Matangi Reserve Action Group (TMRAG), a Whangaparaoa-based group campaigning against the marine reserve, says the limited submission period, the impact of Christmas and New Year holidays and demands of summer boating programmes do not allow sufficient opportunity for interested parties to mobilise and respond. TMRAG has written to New Zealand Underwater asking for the submission deadline to be extended but, as yet, has not received a reply.
Martin Baker, spokesperson for the Hibiscus Coast Boating Club, says the ad hoc nature in which no-take marine reserves are being proposed is alarming, and a coordinated marine reserve strategy for the entire Auckland region needs to be developed and coordinated by central government before the Tiritiri proposal is considered.
The proliferation of stand-alone applications with no proven scientific value is concerning marine users and Baker says the proposed Tiritiri Whangaparaoa Reserve and established Okura Marine Reserve less then four nautical miles away (boundary to boundary) are prime examples of how fragmented and unsubstantiated the marine reserves process has become.
“The Okura Marine Reserve was sponsored by local residents campaigning against a regional rubbish tip the ARA was proposing to establish at the head of the estuary. The marine reserve was part of a strategy to protect property values, lifestyle and estuarine water quality. It was not driven by the need for a reserve per se.”
“The Tiri reserve is being fronted by New Zealand Underwater but it does not contain any significant dive sites such as those found within the Poor Knights Marine Reserve. In fact, a Rodney District Council sewage outfall discharges effluent into the Tiritiri channel and both the scientific value and underwater visibility within the reserve are questionable.”
Jane West, Ngati Whatua Iwi representative, supported Baker’s call for an integrated national reserves policy at a meeting held at the Hibiscus Coast Boating Club, 23 January. Ms West formally asked New Zealand Underwater representative, Karli Thomas, to postpone the association’s application until such a policy was developed. Ms Thomas declined to delay or halt New Zealand Underwater’s application.
NZUA say the proposed reserve is in line with the New Zealand Diodiversity Strategy and the Auckland Regional Policy Statement that support the formation of coastal reserves amounting to 10% of New Zealand’s seascape. However, the Long Bay / Whangaparaoa area already has a higher percentage of formal and defacto reserves if the existing Okura/Long Bay Marine Reserve, Cable Exclusion Zones and Explosive Dumping Ground (disused) are counted.
With current reserve applications covering Tiritiri Island, the end of Whangaparaoa, The Noises, parts of Waiheke Island and a large section of Great Barrier Island out to the 12-mile limit, Hauraki Gulf users are concerned their access rights will be compromised by a disproportion number of marine reserves and no take zones.
At the January 23rd meeting NZUA tried to placate fishermen by claiming reserves enhance fish stocks outside of the reserve boundaries. Option4 (New Zealand’s largest fishing rights group) spokesperson, Scott Macindoe, says there is no scientific evidence that reserves contribute to rebuilding fisheries outside of reserve areas and the piecemeal establishment of perpetual no-take zones is not valid fisheries management.
“Fisheries management must be implemented via the Quota Management System and Recreational Fishing Regulations which are designed to control the commercial and recreational take respectively.”
Mr Macindoe also says any gain generated by the public adhering to a no-take zone around Tiritiri will be passed on to the commercial fishing industry who will catch their quota when the snapper migrate to and from deeper water each year.
“When a rebuild in fish stocks occur the Ministry of Fisheries allocates the additional fish to the commercial sector, as recently happened in the Snapper 2 fishery.”
In essence, Macindoe is saying recreational fishermen who gather food for family and friends will be impacted more heavily by marine reserves than the commercial sector. This is demonstrated by a legal challenge SeaFic (Seafood Industry Council) is preparing to make against DOC’s expansion of marine reserves in both the 12-mile and 200-mile zones.
SeaFic’s challenge comes off the back of an opinion from Chen and Palmer that total
exclusion for fishing within the exclusive economic zone (200 miles) is illegal under the United Nation’s Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is due to a technicality with regards to New Zealand having "sovereignty" over the 12-mile limit but only "sovereign rights" out to 200 miles (more like guardianship than ownership).
This will focus the bulk of the marine reserves within the 12-mile limit where small boat fishermen traditionally fish around sheltering headlands and islands. Tiritiri Matangi island and the outer Whangaparaoa Peninsula are amongst the best protected small boat fishing grounds in the Hauraki Gulf and rescue organisations such as Auckland Volunteer Coast Guard are concerned that lives will be put at risk if small boats are forced to fish in more exposed waters.
Les Sharman, spokesperson for the Hibiscus Coast Rescue Trust, says Tiritiri Matangi island and Whangaparaoa Peninsula are traditional small boat fishing grounds and it is unthinkable they will be placed off limits to satisfy a few scenic divers swimming in poor visibility and even fewer academics studying a marine environment already hugely modified by man.
A public rally will be held 7pm, Thursday 13th February at Hibiscus Coast Boating Club, Stanmore Bay Reserve, Whangaparaoa. Everyone interested in opposing or modifying the NZUA’s marine reserve proposal is urged to attend. For more information contact: John Friend 09 427 9989.
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