Media Release: Māori fisheries collective slams political ignorance this election

Te Ohu Kaimoana, Moana New Zealand and Sealord Group Limited are united in a simple position: protecting the health of our oceans and upholding the rights of Māori are not competing objectives. New Zealand must do both.

With the election outcome on a razor’s edge, political parties—particularly those that are on the brink of forming a new government—need to think clearly about their commercial fishing positions and potential consequences as they enter coalition talks. 

Our entities support continued improvement in fishing practices, investment in innovation, science-led fisheries management, and transition where workable alternatives exist. Kaitiakitanga demands that we protect the health and productivity of our moana for generations to come. But environmental ambition does not give any government or political party license to disregard the enduring rights and interests recognised through the 1992 Māori Fisheries Settlement and guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Te Ohu Kaimoana Chair Pahia Turia states, “The Fisheries Settlement is an enduring and binding commitment between Māori and the Crown. Its obligations cannot be selectively upheld when convenient and disregarded when they become politically difficult.

“Nor should Māori be forced into a false choice between healthy oceans and the rights secured through the Fisheries Settlement. Any significant change to New Zealand's fisheries must be grounded in robust evidence, recognise environmental, cultural, social and economic consequences, and be developed with Māori at the table from the outset.

“What we will not accept is policy imposed without meaningful engagement with Māori, or measures that undermine Māori rights under the banner of environmental progress.”

Moana New Zealand Chair Dean Moana states, “Proposals to ban or rapidly phase out bottom trawling, including in the Hauraki Gulf, would have significant and disproportionate consequences for Māori. They would affect settlement quota ownership, iwi economic returns, employment, the customary supply of kaimoana to hapū and marae, and the availability and affordability of locally caught seafood for New Zealanders.”

“It is unacceptable that some parties position themselves as ‘treaty-centric’ while promoting policy that would strip away the very integrity of the Settlement signed in 1992. You can’t have it both ways.”

“A meaningful and enduring place within New Zealand's fisheries means working together as Treaty partners on any carefully planned transition, not pushing ahead with policies developed without any engagement with iwi.

“Any decision made without iwi input breaches the rights and interests guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi and undermines rangatiratanga. The Settlement is legally enforceable, and the Crown must honour it.”

Sealord Group Limited Chair Jamie Tuuta states, “It has been frustrating to see fishing being used as a political football to garner votes on the back of rhetoric and anti-fishing propaganda. Proposals to ban or rapidly phase out bottom trawling should not be on the table as this will have devastating consequences for Māori and will inevitably start a legal process, which is not helpful to anyone in New Zealand. We should focus on collaborative improvement between industry and Government and that is something that Moana and Sealord have been focused on for many years.”

“Collectively, we have always been a faithful agent for the Treaty Partner in our dealings with the Crown, yet too often the good faith in that partnership is one-sided. We have consistently advocated for co-design and early consultation to avoid unnecessary impacts on iwi rights and interests, and to avoid costly litigation– which iwi end up paying for twice.”

Our message to all political parties is clear: work with Māori on fisheries policies, not around us. Honour the Settlement. Respect rangatiratanga. Bring evidence, not rhetoric, to the table.