When Mahara Okeroa returned to Taranaki after decades away, he was shocked by what he saw as he walked along the coast.
His wairua, his spirit, was ravaged by the lack of care and maintenance he observed. He found the experience traumatic.
Growing up at Parihaka it had been instilled in him to respect the sea.
“We all had that early experience with the sea and what it offered to us.”
Now, there were “bus loads, car loads, campervan loads” of people coming from outside Taranaki and taking kaimoana. Okeroa, a Taranaki Iwi kaumatua, likens it to a plague.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
The Taranaki Iwi rahui group, Libby Taylor, Dave Marshall, Fay Patene, Mahara Okeroa, Tapiukura Young, Steve Corkill, Lisa Ison, Murray Crombie, Jzzhane Corrigan and Murray Dobbin have been working hard to preserve the kaimoana along 70kms of Taranaki coast.
“It was very difficult to control.”
So, for the last two years, a group of Taranaki Iwi and hapu have worked tirelessly to fix the situation, including putting a rahui along the coast.
Okeroa has accepted the nomination for Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year 2023 on their behalf – hapū o Taranaki, the community and Te Kāhui o Taranaki iwi.
“I essentially lead it and engage at all levels,” he says.
It started as a critical response to what they were witnessing on the beaches within the Taranaki Iwi rohe – from Paritutu Rock to just south of Opunake.
“And the devastation and total disregard for what we always considered critical, which is sustainability.”
People think it’s a Māori thing, but Okeroa disagrees.
“Our view is it’s a community thing. We’re talking about taking responsibility. It’s not based on ethnic origin, it’s not exclusive, it’s inclusive. If you live in Taranaki you’re not that far from the sea.”
They have seen people taking all species, including seaweed. To let the “rape and pillage” continue would have disastrous results.
“That would denude our beaches of our sustenance, physically and spiritually. So, it was absolutely imperative that something be done to not only stop it but to address the issue.”
They established a rahui to stop people taking seafood along 70km of coastline from Paritutu Rock to just south of Opunake. But there was no legal backing for their group when they asked people in a peaceful manner not to take the seafood, he says.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Mahara Okeroa and his team have been working hard for more than two years to get a rahui in place along the coast.
“Which placed our kaitiaki in an unenviable situation over a period of almost 12 months, which causes tolerance levels to be tested to the maximum.”
After a year of hard work, and after satisfying everything required by the Ministry of Primary Industries, a legal ban was put in place for two years.
The challenges of compliance are still there.
“It’s very interesting that people are still, in spite of the legal ban, taking. We’re still having people coming from outside the area and we have to explain to them.”
Signs have been put up along the beaches in English, te reo Māori, and Chinese, he says. And there is a QR Code for any other language that is needed.
The work will continue because the rahui ends at the end of 2024, and they want a Mataitai Reserve to be put in place.
A Mataitai Reserve will allow people to take kaimoana, but with restrictions. And it would be permanent.
The group struggled for funding for about a year. But then Te Kāhui o Taranaki iwi helped them with what they needed, he says.
“Personally, I want to acknowledge the Te Kāhui o Taranaki iwi for providing the means for us to get where we have to go.”
