Maranga Mai Ngāti Kuia

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Embrace the past | Live for the future

Ngāti Kuia has successfully developed two relationship agreements that will achieve better environmental outcomes for Te Hoiere awa, Moana and Te Mana o te Wai.

The Ngāti Kuia Taiao Unit has engaged with all primary industries that affect the mauri of our Taonga tuku iho “Te Hoiere”.

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Agreements with King Salmon (KS) and Sanfords Havelock around working together, environmental performance, expansion, technology use and long term aspirations for Te Hoiere.

The agreements align with the Ngāti Kuia Taiao Strategy and Te Hoiere Project principles:

  • Our kaitiaki have the capacity to manage and protect our taonga and being managed through partnership.
  • Kupenga-a-Kuia sustains our people & maintains a thriving and abundant biodiversity.
  • Maintaining and improving the ecology of land, rivers and estuaries, and moana.
  • Restoring the Mauri (life force) and Wairua (spirit) where degraded.
  • Resilient, environmentally sustainable, and thriving primary Industries.

Background:

  1. King Salmon have six existing farms in Te Hoiere and four in Totaranui, and have been farming for 30 years.
  2. Ngāti Kuia have continually opposed all activities that have directly resulted in adverse environmental affects, especially related to Te Hoiere.
  3. Ngāti Kuia have participated in hearings with Board of Inquiry (BOI) and still MPI and King Salmon have been enabled to grow within Te Hoiere and Totaranui.
  4. Kaitiakitanga has always been the driver for Ngāti Kuia Taiao & consistently wanted Finfish farming development to move out of the Inner Sounds.
  5. Ngāti Kuia successfully defended the Mid Waitata (Waharoa o Te Hoiere) against the MPI relocation process.
  6. This Blue Endeavour application, proposes the farm to be Off-Shore and could be a stepping-stone for future open ocean marine farm development.
  7. KS has made a multitude of changes to the original application i.e., 50% reduction in size, reduced feed discharge, increased monitoring, new predator net, and waste capture technology, mauri model with Cultural Health Indicators, should be required.
  8. Industry, MPI, Iwi, TOKM, and many submissions in favour of Off-Shore and open ocean. Ngāti Kuia supports these in principle.
  9. Over the last month, Sanfords (Ngāi Tahu 19%) were granted Finfish farming Off-Shore consents further south, similar to the one proposed in our region.
  10. If this the Blue Endeavour application goes through, King Salmon will reduce their footprint in Te Hoiere, change farming methods, and work with Ngāti Kuia.
  11. Conditions have been recommended i.e., cultural monitoring of significant sites like Titi Island, Pouataikino, Te Mete Mahinga and around existing farms in Te Hoiere.
  12. Alignment with Te Hoiere Strategy – integrated management and collaborative participation with Industry.

I would like to thank all those who gave feedback via Facebook and the many I have talked to from our iwi and the community.

If anyone wants to attend the hearings from 18–20 October 2021, please contact Marlborough District Council as Covid-19 Level 2 protocols apply.

For more information contact Raymond Smith – raymond@ngatikuia.iwi.nz