Fisheries in the Ngāti Kahungunu Rohe, New Zealand

To ensure sustainability of fisheries resources, commercial fisheries in New Zealand are monitored by direct control of harvest levels using the Quota Management System. However, there is currently no overall harvest amount for any fishery in New Zealand, which includes harvest amounts across all sectors of fishing: commercial, recreational, customary and other sources of fishing mortality. Having reliable information and data is important when setting and varying harvest levels for each species in each geographical area to ensure the sustainable use of that fishery. This research focuses on the fisheries harvest within Ngāti Kahungnu rohe, between the 2007-2010 fishing years, of 10 key species in New Zealand waters. A variety of different data sources from all sectors, including; commercial, recreational, customary and illegal fishing were used in this research to estimate overall harvest amounts. These estimates are also displayed geographically using heat maps. In order for more reliable estimates of overall harvest to be made there is a need for more consistent data collection between the different fishing sectors, as well as a higher quality of data collection relating to the harvest of fisheries in New Zealand for all sectors of fishing. This research highlights the difficulty of making such estimates and provides an initial template for similar research in other areas around New Zealand. This research also highlights the difficulties faced by Iwi/Māori when attempting to participate in fisheries management. This is not only due to the complexity of fisheries management in New Zealand, with current management and traditional Māori concepts not always aligning, but also the lack of high quality data across all fishing sectors available.