Hauraki Customary Indicators Report - Ministry for the Environment

Technical Paper
No. 57
Maori
Environmental
performance indicators
Hauraki Customary
Indicators Report
Prepared for the Ministry
for the Environment by:
Hauraki Maori Trust Board
June, 1999.
Signposts for sustainability

Printed in July 1999 by:
Ministry for the Environment
PO Box 10-362, Wellington, New Zealand
Copyright over the customary and traditional knowledge contained in this report vests in
the Hauraki Maori Trust Board.
The Board allows the Ministry for the Environment access to the knowledge contained
in this report for the sole purpose of developing environmental performance indicators.
The Ministry may only use, or apply, the knowledge contained in this report for the
Environmental Performance Indicators Programme with the Boards prior consent.
Copyright of this report vests in the Ministry for the Environment. The Board may retain
copies of this report, and with the consent of the Ministry for the Environment, freely
utilise and refer to this report and its contents in the conduct of their business.
The Ministry acknowledges the existence of tribal protocols for protecting tribal specific
knowledge. It was the Board’s responsibility to ensure that tribal protocols were not
breached in the writing and publication of this report.

Acknowledgements
The Hauraki Maori Trust Board would like to acknowledge the following people who
contributed to this report:
Alice Anderson
Laura Hiku
John Linstead
Andrea Ngaia
Jim Nicholls
Te Uira Rakena
Kemara Tukukino
Rose Williams
Josie Anderson
Charley Kipa
Sonny McCaskill
Beau Ngamane
Larni Parsons
Jason Roxburgh
Damien Waitai
John Williams
Pani Gage
Toko Renata Te Taniwha
Harry Mikaere
Liane Ngamane
Riki Rakena
Lorraine Thompson
Bob Cooper, Tai Perspectives for his substantial contribution to the Hauraki Customary
Indicators Project
The contributions of these people are greatly appreciated. While the report’s strengths
owe much to these contributors, the Hauraki Maori Trust Board bears full responsibility
for the final text and any interpretation that it may contain.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report i

Contents
Summary 1
Part 1: Background 25
1 Environmental Performance Indicator program 25
2 Hauraki environmental indicators project 26
2.1 Project objectives 26
2.2 Project outcomes 27
2.3 Study areas 27
3 Project methodology 27
3.1 Kaumatua interviews 27
3.2 The historic Hauraki environment 28
3.3 Hauraki information protocol 30
4 The people of Hauraki 32
4.1 The Hauraki region 32
4.2 The people 33
4.3 Hauraki Maori society 35
4.4 Hauraki Maori population estimates 37
5 Te Ao Maori o Hauraki 38
5.1 Te Ao Maori (The Maori world view) 38
5.2 Te Ao Maori o Hauraki 41
6 Environments of study areas 48
6.1 Firth of Thames 50
6.2 Waihou River 58
6.3 Manaia Harbour and catchment 68
7 The customary fishery 73
7.1 Introduction 73
7.2 Firth of Thames 74
7.3 The Waihou River 83
7.4 Manaia Harbour 93
Part 2: Hauraki customary fisheries indicators 99
8 Customary themes 99
8.1 Definition of customary indicators 99
8.2 Fisheries abundance and use 100
8.3 Tikanga Maori 103
8.4 Seasonal calendars 104
8.5 Observation and inherited knowledge 108
9 Customary indicators 108
9.1 The Hauraki indicator concept 108
9.2 Defining sustainability 109
9.3 Hauraki indicators 110
9.4 Hauraki Environmental Performance Indicators in practice 114
Part 3: Te Wero – the challenge 117
Stage II and III customary indicator programme 117
10 Introduction 117
11 Environmental Performance Indicator selection 117
11.1 Indicators in a Hauraki environmental context 117
11.2 Indicator definition, use and selection 118
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12 A Hauraki indicator monitoring capacity 119
13 Monitoring capacity timeframe 120
14 References 122
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report iii

List of maps
Map 1: Hauraki region 49
Map 2: Hauraki bathymetry 52
Map 3: Hauraki seabed sediments 53
Map 4: Distribution of green-lipped mussel in the Hauraki Gulf prior to 1958 and in 1961 56
Map 5: The Waihou River system 61
Map 6: The Oruarangi settlement environment, on the Matatoki Stream near its confluence
with the Waihou River, today and in the early 1800s 64
Map 7: Kirikiri – Puriri sub-catchment, 1993, illustrating wetland loss and stream
channelisation 65
Map 8: Omahu – Hikutaia sub-catchment, 1993, illustrating wetland loss and stream
channelisation 66
Map 9: Waihou River drainage pattern 67
Map 10: Manaia Harbour and catchment 70
Map 11: Manaia Harbour approaching low tide 72
Map 12: Kirikiri – Puriri sub-catchment, Waihou River – modern and historical drainage
system, place names 96
Map 13: Omahu – Hikutaia sub-catchment, Waihou River – modern and historical drainage
system, place names 97
List of figures
Figure 1: Early population estimates 37
Figure 2: Population estimated from native agents 38
Figure 3: Maori population 1886-1916 38
Figure 4: Distribution of shellfish communities along the western shoreline of the Firth of
Thames 57
Figure 5: Predicted inanga spawning areas in the Waihou River 90
Figure 6: A Tuhoe fishing calendar (after Best 1977) 105
Figure 7: A Ngati Kahungunu calendar (after Best 1986) 106
List of tables
Table 1: Waihou River sub-catchments and tributaries 63
Table 2: Main rivers and streams, Manaia Harbour catchment 71
Table 3: Major customary species of the Waihou River, Manaia Harbour and Firth of Thames 74
Table 4: Customary Indicators for Tikapa Moana, Manaia Harbour and the Waihou River
catchment 112
Table 5: Hauraki ecosystems, communities, customary resources and adverse impacts
identified in this project 114
Table 6: Stage II and III customary indicator programme tasks 120
iv Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Summary
1 Environmental performance indicator programme
• The Ministry for the Environment in its report Environmental Performance indicators
noted the close relationship Maori have with the environment.
• As a result of workshops convened by the Ministry in 1987 and 1988 iwi contracts were
negotiated to define environmental indicators as understood and used by Maori.
• The Ministry seeks a model, by way of an iwi-specific case study, for further development
of environmental performance indicators for the marine environment and key freshwater
catchments.
2 Hauraki environmental indicators project
• The Hauraki project is a preliminary study of indicators for customary fisheries in
extensively modified lowland catchments and adjacent coastal waters: The study focuses
on three areas being the Waihou River; Manaia Harbour and Firth of Thames.
• Two main sources of information have been brought together in this study. Traditional
information gathered from kaumatua and information extracted from public sources.
• This is stage one of a three stage process. Based on the outcomes of this study future
stages will include customary and conventional indicators being trialled, partnership
arrangements with responsible agencies being established and a Hauraki monitoring
capacity developed.
3 Project methodology
• Information was gathered from kaumatua by interviewing individually and on a group
basis. Each kaumatua was interviewed more than once to ensure reliability of
information.
• Fluent speakers of the Maori language were involved in the interviews to ensure reliability
in the transfer of information.
• Interviews were recorded on audio or videotapes as a record for future generations.
• An information protocol was established to protect taonga status of the traditional
information gathered.
• Maps of the historic environment, Maori place names and waterways, project explanations
in Maori and site visits enhanced the value and depth of the information gathered.
Reconstruction of the historic Hauraki environment
• Reconstruction of the historic Hauraki environment, based on survey maps, provides a
context for explanation of the use and development of customary fisheries indicators.
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• The modern-day environment can only be used to explain indicators that utilise exotic
plants, recent changes to the fisheries habitat, or patterns of movement that remain
unchanged.
• Oral information from kaumatua provided extensive material on the historic Hauraki
environment.
Information protocol
• A preliminary information protocol that covered research methods, storage and retrieval
was developed for this project.
• Research criteria used in the protocol:
– stated clearly what the research was about;
– stated what the research was for;
– stated whom the research was for;
– stated where and when it was likely to be published;
– stated that a copy of the information would be supplied to the informant before going to
print.
• The purpose of this project was clearly explained at hui and at each interview a
requirement of the protocol. Purposes were described as:
– to identify the nature and use of Hauraki customary fishery indicators;
– to collect this information for the use of Hauraki Maori to monitor the sustainability of
fisheries and their environment;
– to provide an outline of how customary information might be stored, accessed and used
in the future by tribal members;
– to provide options for the use of customary information by outside agents.
• Information storage, access and use guidelines must recognise the taonga status of the
data and that of kaitiaki.
Kaumatua interviews
• Twelve meetings were held, involving more than 20 Kaumatua with knowledge of the
Firth of Thames, the Manaia Harbour, the Kauaeranga and Waihou rivers and the Piako
River in the vicinity of Morrinsville.
4 The people of Hauraki
The Hauraki region and people
• The tribal estate is a holistic concept encompassing the sky above and the earth below.
• Much of the terrain of Hauraki is mountainous, bordered by extensive valleys formerly in
virgin bush with numerous forest streams. Major waterways like the Waihou have their
source in the hinterland catchment, feeding the former swamplands of Hauraki before
entering Tikapa Moana, the centre of the tribal estate.
2 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

• The life of Hauraki iwi was influenced and controlled by their physical and spiritual
environment. The temperate climate assured an abundant food resource and an ideal
location for human settlement.
• Iwi within the study area include Marutuahu, Ngati Pukenga, Ngati Rahiri Tumutumu, Nga
Marama, Ngati Koi, Ngati Tara Tokanui Tawhaki and Ngati Hako of Hauraki. South of
Te Aroha the Waihou River stretches into the lands of Ngati Haua, of the Waikato.
• The people of Hauraki developed skills as hunters and gatherers of food and as
agriculturists, developing a sophisticated local calendar to ensure that fishing catches were
plentiful, forest products were harvested in prime condition and crops grew abundantly.
Hauraki Maori society
• Historically Hauraki Maori lived predominantly on the fertile lowlands along the coast or
waterways, close to food sources and transportation routes.
• Inter-tribal wars, land sales and European development all contributed to a re-orientation
of lifestyle in the 1800s, creating a new Hauraki social order. A tribal subsistence
economy based on fisheries and bush products was replaced to an increasing extent by a
regional economy in which Hauraki Maori were marginalised.
• Customary indicators continued in use for subsistence purposes and by tribal commercial
fishers.
• Maori social structure is based on whakapapa and the link between whanau, hapu and iwi.
Underpinning this is their place of origin, turangawaewae, from which arises their status
as tangata whenua. “The people of the land” are bound by an ancient obligation as
kaitiaki to sustain the mauri of the natural environment, a role as yet unrecognised in
regional and local management.
• There are a range of modern-day organisations established under Crown legislation that
have a supportive or representative role in the Hauraki area. The Hauraki Maori Trust
Board is the key organisation in this category, having representatives from twelve tribal
groups within the tribal territory.
• The Board accepted this contract in order to facilitate a process and develop systems to
monitor the state of the environment and resources, to protect the mauri of te ao Maori o
Hauraki.
5 Te Ao Maori o Hauraki
Te Ao Maori (The Maori world view)
• Te Ao Maori is based on Maori knowledge of their environment, its physical and spiritual
processes. This knowledge was the template of Maori understanding, providing a context
for values, change and systems which sustained Maori existence.
• The Maori world view is holistic and integrated recognising the interconnectedness and
interdependence of all things.
• Holism governs the relationship between Maori and their environment, providing a
foundation for their resource policy development. Inherent are the ethics of intergenerational
responsibility and reciprocity. This ethic finds expression in the belief that the
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condition and health of the natural environment is a reflection of the condition and health
of tangata whenua. It is the notion of reciprocity that holds the key to sustainability.
Te Ao Maori o Hauraki
• The world view of Hauraki Maori encompasses all of the living and non-living elements of
the environment, natural taonga, bound by the life force or mauri. Human kind is but
another natural taonga. Natural taonga have an intrinsic value in terms of their own
existence and being, and their value to the interconnected nature of the natural
environment, to the integrity of the earth, and to human survival.
• This requires an understanding of one’s place in, and relationship to the natural world.
This understanding flows naturally into taking the responsibility to ensure that the mauri is
sustained and wellbeing and human survival is assured.
• Kaupapa Maori is the guiding ethic and intrinsic discipline that will determine the action of
the individual, the group, and the community.
• To Hauraki the whenua – land, conceptualised as the spiritual and physical body of
Papatuanuku – Earth Mother must be protected to ensure the continued survival of her
many offspring, including Maori. Ancestral descent from Papatuanuku binds Maori to the
land and the land to Maori. Maori are not only possessors of the land, the land is the
possessor of Maori. This cyclic reciprocity between Maori and Papatuanuku is reflected
in the return to her earthly fold at death and the placement of placenta in its earthly resting
place at birth.
• It is this holistic view of spirituality that is embedded in Hauraki Maori thinking, that links
the physical elements of nature with the Maori ancestral past.
The instruments of Te Ao Maori and the environment
• The life principles that govern Hauraki Maori are reflected in tikanga, the customary
practices of the past that are still applied today. They bind Te Ao Maori with the
environment and are linked to kaitiakitanga, the practice of environmental protection.
Tohu are the signposts or indicators that defined the tikanga that should apply.
• Mauri is the life force that impacts on all aspects of Maori existence. The concept of
mauri is fundamental to the exercise of kaitiakitanga.
• Mauri is the vital energy force that gives being and form to all things in the universe,
providing the interconnection between humankind and the natural environment. Decisions
made and controls imposed were focused on sustaining the mauri to ensure that the
balance was maintained between people and the natural and spiritual worlds.
• At a community level this meant taking responsibility for your own actions, exercising
kaitiakitanga or tikanga as kaitiaki, as an individual or as a member of a whanau, hapu or
iwi by consciously doing things that were respectful to the domain of atua and their gifts.
• The Maori environmental ethic was expressed through the laws of tapu, using
mechanisms such as rahui.
• Tapu involved imposing a prohibition or ban on anything when it was evident that the
mauri was devitalised. Tapu gave time for that force to be restored, revitalised, or
preserved.
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• The laws of tapu engendered the notion of community responsibility and reciprocity to
their natural environment. They also re-emphasise that resource management for Maori
is about recognising and providing for the physical and metaphysical dimensions of a
resource.
• Rahui refers to a process of decision making by local communities that is open and
participatory and that enables good decisions to be made and implemented on important
issues.
• Today rahui refers to the shortened form of rahui tapu and is taken to mean that a tapu
or prohibition has been implemented.
• The depletion of kaimoana grounds, the pollution of rivers, anything that had the potential
to have adverse effects on the community and its environment signalled the potential use
of rahui.
• As kaitiaki, tangata whenua have an ancestral obligation to protect and maintain the
mauri of all things. The obligation is ancestral. It is not a job, it is an ancient responsibility
that necessitates tangata whenua consultation with those whose activities may threaten or
violate the mauri, whether through physical activities or statutory processes.
• The kaitiaki ethos approaches the environment holistically.
• Tikanga provides a system of checks and balances which ensures the correct course of
action for kaitiaki. Mauri was traditionally maintained using tikanga components including
karakia, kawa (protocol), tapu, raahui and whakanoa.
• Kaitiakitanga is a concept that is included in both the Resource Management Act 1991
and the Fisheries Act 1996.
• Customary indicators are a key instrument of kaitiakitanga. Developing a Hauraki
capacity that utilises and applies customary indicators in a contemporary manner is a task
for the second phase of this project.
• In recognising the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral
taonga an understanding of te reo (language) is important. There is an inextricable link
between the language, places, people and events.
6 Environments of study areas
• Three major geographic elements of the tribal territory were chosen. The Waihou River,
which is the dominant floodplain feature, the Firth of Thames, which integrates floodplain,
harbour and coastal elements, and the Manaia catchment representing a Coromandel
Peninsula harbour.
• Several key geographic areas of the tribal territory were not represented. They are the
western side of the Firth of Thames north of Kaiaua, the outer coastal seas, islands and
lands of Tikapa Moana, and the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula south to
Matakana Island.
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The Firth of Thames
• The Firth of Thames is a central component of the Hauraki tribal territory. It is the outlet
for the rivers of the Hauraki flood plain and a conduit for the ebb and flow of the tides of
Tikapa Moana including the harbours of the western Coromandel Peninsula. Seasonal
migrations of tuna, tamure, patiki and many other fish use it as a pathway.
• The Firth of Thames is an extensive shallow sea some 40 km in depth and up to 20 km in
width. Trade, travel and food gathering centred historically on this shallow waterway,
which was a focus of the social order of many Hauraki settlements.
• The shoreline and seabed of the Firth of Thames today is probably superficially similar to
that of pre-European times.
• The considerable sediment load entering the sea from the Waihou and Piako rivers is and
has historically been the main visible environmental impact in the Firth of Thames.
• In the southern Firth of Thames traditional information provides evidence of sediment
induced changes to the habitat of pipi and cockle fisheries. In contrast kaumatua state
that the shoreline along the eastern edge of the Firth of Thames, north of Tararu, remains
much as it was historically.
• Mangrove and adjacent mudflats in the vicinity of Thames were once rich with pupu (cats
eye) and titiko. Today while titiko (mud snail) are present in greatly reduced numbers
(thought to be due to changes in the environment) pupu are no longer present.
• Hauraki fishers understand the ebb and flow pattern of the tide in the Firth of Thames and
adjoining harbours. They understood these environmental parameters in terms of the
seasonal cycle of fish entering and leaving the Firth and adjacent harbours and rivers.
Current and wind patterns, in conjunction with tidal state, were indicators to fishers about
safety when on the sea, the timing of fishing and gear setting.
• The biological productivity of the Firth of Thames, its bounty, was well known. The vast
shellfisheries and the seasonal migrations of patiki, tamure and other fish were indicators
of that abundance.
• Benthic communities of the seabed, presumed to be predominantly of shellfish, polychaete
worms and small crustacea, historically supported and attracted an abundant fishery,
particularly flounder, snapper and sharks.
• Extensive sub-tidal beds of green-lipped mussels from Kaiaua north to Ponui Island, were
well known. Shoreline beds of mussels were extensive along the whole of the eastern
Firth of Thames shoreline.
• The south western, southern and eastern shorelines of the Firth of Thames was the site of
the main pipi and cockle fishery.
• Small paua and rock lobster fisheries, and formerly extensive kina beds, occupy sub-tidal
reefs in the cleaner, more turbulent waters north of Deadmans Point.
• Hauraki customary fishery indicators were developed in a pristine environment. The local
Maori population was probably of a size that led to few environmental impacts, the effects
of fire on local forests being perhaps the major exception.
• Mining, deforestation and intensive farming has caused significant environmental change
in the Firth of Thames.
6 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

The Waihou River
• The Waihou and Piako rivers are the dominant drainage system for the Hauraki Plains,
the western slopes of the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges and a large area of plains and
rolling country in the Matamata-Putararu district. The rivers are significantly influenced
by events in their catchments and, at the same time, the rivers have a major impact on the
environment of the Firth of Thames.
• The Waihou River extends for 128 km. It has nine major tributaries, with the Ohinemuri
River being by far the largest. The Waihou has been divided into sub-catchment areas to
allow clearer definition of wetlands and former water courses erased by drainage.
• Historically the Waihou was a lowland river with extensive wetlands, set among dense
bush. Today much of the original forest is replaced by pasture. Wetlands and the riparian
vegetation of lowland and hill country streams have been dramatically reduced and
altered.
• The tidal influence reaches as far inland as Te Aroha, saltwater penetrating as far inland
as the Hikutaia River.
• The historical climate of the Waihou was probably an extension of that enjoyed by the
Firth of Thames.
• Hauraki settlements tended to be adjacent to the main waterways and their associated
swamps. These were the major source of food and other natural resources. The river
and its main tributaries were the canoe roads of the Hauraki people, of neighbouring
Waikato iwi and occasionally for those intent on war.
• River clearance for shipping and logging in the late 1800s and use as a sludge channel for
mining wastes seriously affected the Waihou River environment and its fisheries.
• Channelisation of tributaries and an extensive drainage pattern is evident, created in the
main since 1908.
• Drained land has been the basis of an extensive, and in the last 15 years intensive, dairy
farming industry. The present silt and nutrient loading in runoff from dairy farms may be
having an adverse effect on the river environment and on that of the Firth of Thames.
• Drainage has removed the majority of wetlands in the Waihou River catchment. Drains
have provided a new environment, however habitats are often poor or lack access for
fish.
• Stock grazing to the edge of streams has destroyed much of the riparian vegetation relied
upon by inanga and other species. Drain cleaning programmes do not support a healthy
aquatic environment.
The Manaia Harbour and catchment
• The Manaia Harbour and catchment is representative of west coast harbours of the
Coromandel Peninsula. The harbour is one of the few relatively unmodified catchments
on the Coromandel Peninsula.
• The Manaia River, 8 km in length, lies in steep bush-clad lands rising to the Coromandel
Range. The main tributaries are steep, rock and shingle-based streams with abundant
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 7

cover. This is the habitat of the longfin eel. The lower stretches of the Manaia River
flow through farmed flats at the head of the harbour and, along with the adjacent harbour
mangroves, provides the habitat for the shortfin eel.
• Manaia Harbour is an extensive estuarine habitat dominated by the Manaia River and its
channels. The harbour is approximately 70% inter-tidal. There are extensive mangrove
areas and saltwater marshes in the eastern section of the harbour and in each of the
northern bays.
• The harbour has extensive inter-tidal sand flats which extend to the head of the harbour
along the main river channels. The outer sandflats have conspicuous shell banks and
significant sea grass beds. They are the sites of a pipi and cockle fishery.
• The Manaia River catchment is mainly in bush, former farmland in the process of
reverting. Little change in the catchment environment appears to have occurred since the
1940s. Location changes and a decline in pipi and cockle beds, may be a sign of
environmental impact. Spartina has gained a small foothold in the harbour.
7 The customary fishery
• The customary fishery of the Hauraki rohe remains a taonga, albeit greatly diminished in
comparison to historical levels.
• Kaumatua knowledge of the customary fishery spanned the period from the 1920s to the
present day, including the time of their parents, and sometimes grandparents. They were
the keepers of customary lore as understood by their tupuna.
• Fish and shellfish were abundant in their parents’ time, and in their own, through until at
least the late 1940s. Abundance meant that they were able to harvest sufficient natural
foods of good quality and in sufficient quantity from their own immediate neighbourhood at
any time of the year.
• Drainage schemes, commercial fishing, farm practices and other environmental impacts
have caused significant changes to the fishery and its habitat. Some species, such as eels,
were adaptable enough to survive and thrive in the new environment until the advent of
commercial fishing.
• Hauraki have had to adapt their fishing practices in response to the new environments
created and the different fishing or gathering locations.
• Fish or shellfish from the rivers and Tikapa Moana remain significant items for tribal and
personal sustenance, albeit reduced in abundance.
• Responsibility for this customary fishery and its habitat remains with tangata whenua.
• The decline of fisheries resources, together with changing lifestyles and non-recognition
by the Crown, has affected Hauraki use and management practices as they relate to the
customary fishery.
• Initiatives undertaken by the Ministry for the Environment, including this programme, and
the Ministry of Fisheries are a step towards practical recognition of Hauraki kaitiakitanga
responsibilities.
8 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Firth of Thames
• The shallow coastal waters and coastal environment of the Firth of Thames supports a
productive customary fishery which continues to play a unique role in the economy and
welfare of the Hauraki people.
• The Firth has always been a major pathway for the seasonal movement of customary
fisheries, including flounder, snapper, pioke, tuna and the various whitebait species.
• Unfettered fishing until the late 1970s has had a major impact on the customary fisheries
of the area.
• Mussel farming is a potential threat to the sustainability of the ecosystem and the
customary fishery.
• The main customary shellfisheries identified includes green-lipped mussel, pipi, cockle,
rock oyster, paua, spiny rock lobsters and the red rock crab. Kina has at times been
harvested in larger quantities than other sea foods.
• The main fish species taken in bulk for customary use up until the Second World War
included flounder, snapper, pioke and eels.
Habitat, seasons and use
• Mining, deforestation, drainage and land use has caused significant change to terrestrial,
riverine, estuarine and coastal ecosystems. This has significantly altered the historical
distribution patterns of customary fisheries.
• Shellfisheries of the southern and eastern shorelines of the Firth of Thames, of Colville
Bay, the Manaia and probably Coromandel harbours are drastically reduced in comparison
to former levels.
• Changes to sediment type for the southern mudflats have changed the distribution of
shellfish in this area. Change along the western Coromandel shoreline is attributable
either in part or in whole to recruitment overfishing.
• Major seasonal events in the Firth of Thames include fish migration, spawning and other
life cycle events such as:
– mature female eels leaving the rivers in autumn, perhaps to live temporarily in the
mangroves and mudflats, and moving on to spawn in the Pacific;
– grey mullet, yellow-eyed mullet and flounder moving out of the rivers and estuaries to
spawn in the Firth of Thames or in deeper coastal waters in late winter or early spring;
– glass eels, juvenile inanga and common smelt moving into estuaries and the lower river
in the spring;
– juvenile kahawai, grey and yellow-eyed mullet, flounder and others moving into
estuarine and sea grass nursery areas;
– live bearing sharks moving into the shallow southern areas of the Firth to bear their
young;
– flounder and snapper, kahawai and other pelagic species, moving into and out of the
Firth in their annual feeding migration;
– spawning and settlement of pipi and cockle, mussels, oysters and other shellfish.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 9

• The movement of many species of fish into the Firth of Thames in the spring or early
summer was so striking that to Hauraki Maori it was a major event in their seasonal
calendar.
• Understanding seasonal patterns and requirements for customary species in a historical
and present day context is important to gain an appreciation of customary indicator use.
• Gathering of fish and shellfish until the early years of the 20 th century was governed by
customary rules. Tohu or indicators were used to reliably determine food resources and
safety while gathering them.
• Natural indicators, along with seasonal and monthly calendars, played a significant part in
determining the presence of finfish as well as the best times to harvest. These indicators
were seldom used to determine harvest readiness, with the exception of kina, when quality
was determined by plant flowering.
• A variety of fishing methods were used historically in the customary fishery. Fishing gear
was set in relation to the known habits and preferences of fish, based on observations
passed down from tupuna, plus their own experience.
Tuna (Eel)
• Eels are common residents of the mangroves and mudflats in the southern end of the Firth
of Thames. Their populations are not so plentiful as in former times.
• Eels regularly moved from the Firth of Thames mudflats into the Kauaeranga River on the
returning tide. Spearing at night with torches, netting and hand removal from mud holes
were the methods used.
Common smelt, inanga
• Whitebait was taken as it entered the rivers from the Firth of Thames. The state of plants
and rivers were used as natural indicators showing that whitebait was running.
Patiki (Yellow-belly flounder)
• Yellow-belly flounder are fished according to their seasonal movement pattern as they
move south into the lower Firth of Thames.
• Patiki begin their migration into the Firth of Thames in October and move down the
eastern shoreline, arriving off the southern river mouths before Christmas. During this
part of the annual cycle flounder move slowly, probably feeding. They are on the flats
between Waihou and Waitakaruru from November to May. Once heading north along the
Kaiaua coastline they move quickly out of the area.
• Knowledge of this migration pattern has been passed on from tupuna and used by Hauraki
commercial fishers from the early 1900s. How earlier use was made of such knowledge
by Hauraki fishers, who deployed stake nets off the Thames shoreline and parts of the
western Firth of Thames, prior to European settlement, is now not known.
10 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Kahawai
Aua (Yellow-eyed mullet)
Kanae (Grey mullet)
• Adult kahawai move into the Firth and the lower tidal reaches of the Waihou and the
Piako River in spring and summer.
• Yellow-eyed mullet move into the river estuaries on the rising tide to feed, leaving as the
tide falls.
• Schools of adult grey mullet are a common sight inland as far as Turua.
Tamure (Snapper)
• Adult snapper are a major component of the Firth of Thames fish community. Snapper
occupy the whole of the Firth of Thames from October to May but do not appear to have
a set pattern of movement.
• The main fishery occurs in the spring and summer. Fish arrive quite suddenly, and then
move out during the early winter. Resident fish of several types remain in some localities.
• Snapper move onto the flats with the tide to feed during northerly weather. Food items
often found in the gut of snapper are mussels, pipi, cockle and crabs. Snapper are
particularly evident feeding on pipi and cockle beds in the shallow waters off the
Waitakaruru to Miranda area. Snapper caught in calm weather on the flats were often
full of flounder.
• Snapper continue to be a major customary species used fresh and preserved. Like
flounder, the seasons and climate were indicators of arrival and departure of the species.
Fishers became accustomed to this knowledge and at particular stages of the tide would
move to sites to fish on particular stages of the tide for specific fish types.
• Lining and netting are used today to catch snapper for customary use, and by Hauraki
commercial fishers using this traditional knowledge.
Pioke (Dogfish)
Tupere (School shark)
• The southern part of the Firth of Thames was well known as a shark pupping ground and
nursery. Pioke would move into the waters in spring, and other varieties of shark, such as
school shark and larger species, would follow from November through to January.
• Sharks were a valuable customary fishery because of their keeping qualities when dried.
Prior to European settlement dried shark was a staple diet when travelling. Pioke was
commonly dried up until the Second World War. Dried shark or other dried fish and
shellfish were the school lunch of many young Hauraki Maori through the 1930s and
1940s.
• Sharks were caught in set nets at night, either in the early morning or evening at the
change of light, a practice still used today.
Pipi
• Historically pipi occurred as dense beds along much of the Firth of Thames shoreline until
the early 1960s. Manaia Harbour supported extensive low-water pipi beds.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 11

• The former abundance of this fishery, as recognised by Hauraki whakatauaki, has now
vastly diminished.
• The extensive beds of the lower Firth of Thames no longer exist today. Changes from a
sandy to a muddy substrate appears the likely cause for the collapse of pipi fisheries south
of Thames.
• The decline of the pipi fishery between Ngarimu and Wilsons Bay is now closed, due to
recruitment overfishing.
• The Manaia Harbour beds are showing signs of decline and are of utmost concern to
tangata whenua.
Tuangi (Cockle)
• Historically the main cockle fisheries occurred in sub-tidal beds at Te Mata, Manaia
Harbour, Coromandel Harbour and Colville Bay. These beds comprised mainly large
cockles whereas other beds comprised smaller cockles mixed with pipi.
• Extensive cockle beds were located between the Waitakaruru River and Miranda. These
cockles were smaller and mixed with pipi as well as mud pipi. These high density cockle
beds, in the 1950s and 1960s, were located by the numerous holes dug by snapper feeding
on these beds while they were covered by water.
• The main cockle beds occur on sandy mud below low water. Relatively good beds,
although of a smaller size, occurred in the inter-tidal throughout the area.
• The cockle fisheries of Colville Bay, Te Mata and the inter-tidal areas along the Thames
to Wilsons Bay coastline have almost completely vanished.
Peraro (Trough shell)
• The mud pipi is commonly found in the sandy mud between Thames and Waitakaruru. Its
name alone identifies its habitat preference.
Kutai (Green-lipped mussel)
• Mussels are a main food source of the local people. When in good condition they are
usually gathered from winter through to early summer. If their condition remained good
all year round it is likely that a natural indicator may have been used to determine the
period at which mussels would have been of their highest quality prior to the main
spawning.
• Prior to the 1960s, green-lipped mussels occurred in extensive inter-tidal and sub-tidal
beds in the Firth of Thames and other parts of Tikapa Moana. Mussels were still plentiful
in the 1930s, but by the late 1960s both inter-tidal and sub-tidal mussel beds had been
decimated by commercial harvesting.
• Shore picking devastated the mussel beds on the shoreline from Waikawau to Wilsons
Bay.
• Mussels are today abundant inter-tidally between Colville Bay and Te Puru, increasing in
density towards Wilsons Bay. Sub-tidal beds have also recovered since mussel farming
began in the 1970s.
12 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Tupa (Scallop)
• Scallops occurred mainly in deep waters as far south as Wilsons Bay and in some shallow
harbours.
• They were caught occasionally on long lines or in nets, or when blown ashore, along with
horse mussels on the Coromandel east coast.
• Although favoured today their scarcity and deeper water habit creates a challenge for
customary gathering.
Tio (Rock oysters)
• The native rock oyster occurs in the mid to upper tidal band along the Thames coastline,
particularly from Te Mata to Waikawau. The Pacific oyster is replacing the native rock
oyster, particularly in the southern part of the Firth of Thames. They are most abundant in
the Piako, Waihou and Waitakaruru estuaries.
Titiko (Mud snail)
• Titiko occurred wherever there were mangroves and muddy sands from Colville Bay
south. Large areas of mud snail habitat was removed by reclamation near Thames. They
are no longer found near the Thames wharf and aerodrome, possibly due to pollution.
They are harvested all year round.
Pupu (Cats eye)
• Pupu occur on rocky shores along the Thames – Colville coast and north of Kaiaua. Pupu
also occur on mangrove roots. The area of mangroves near the aerodrome at Thames
was a popular fishery that no longer exists.
• Cooks turban was found in the same areas but below the low tide mark.
Paua , kina, rock lobster
• Paua are rarely found south of Wilsons Bay in the Firth of Thames, occurring mainly
around the islands adjacent to the Coromandel – Colville coastline. Kina and rock lobster
have a similar distribution.
• Of the three species kina has been the most abundant and probably has the greatest
chance of recovery in the present environment. Kina is a species which should be
considered a candidate for monitoring. It is easy to observe, quickly recolonises areas and
has a quick growth rate.
• Kina are usually taken year round but were taken at a time, when a plant had flowered
indicating that the roes are of good quality. Harakeke flowering suggested that the roes
are of poor quality.
Papaka (Red rock crab)
• Red rock crab, no longer plentiful, was found in good quantities at Waiomu in the 1930s.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 13

The Waihou River
• The Waihou River, in association with the Piako, was historically a key natural resource
area for the Hauraki tribes. Eels, flax, birds and various berries were key resources taken
from this area from about the mid-15 th century.
• Since the 1960s drainage schemes, commercial fishing, farm practices and other
environmental effects have caused a massive decline in the fishery.
• Eels, and possibly paraki (smelt) and kanae (grey mullet), are the only resources that have
been adapted to survive the massive environmental changes evident in the catchment.
• Environmental changes may have almost caused the extinction of the freshwater mussel.
They have drastically limited inanga, but smelt appear to remain a major fishery. Pipi was
once found as far inland as the Matatoki Stream.
• The customary fishery of the Waihou River has the same species of fish as existed in
historical times but numbers and fishing locations are greatly reduced.
• Short- and longfinned eel, smelt and inanga (whitebait), black and yellow-belly flounder,
yellow-eyed and grey mullet, kahawai, freshwater crayfish and freshwater mussel remain
indigenous customary fish species. Trout, catfish, rudd, perch, carp and mosquito fish are
the customary exotic species. Water cress is the main aquatic plant harvested.
Habitat, seasons and use
• Since Cook found the Waihou, some 220 years ago, the river’s environment has been
changed beyond recognition.
• Habitat has shrunk considerably with the drainage of wetlands and the channelisation of
the main river and its tributaries. The almost complete lack of galaxiids may be due to
removal of riparian vegetation through stock trampling.
• The decline of freshwater mussels may have been caused by farm runoff changing the
chemical character of the aquatic environment.
• Drainage has provided an extensive drain habitat, provided flood gates, pumps or other
obstructions do not prevent access for the fish.
• This section provides a context for the examination of the effect of environmental change
on the ancient seasonal calendars used by the Hauraki whanui in the Waihou fishery.
Tuna (Eel)
• Eel fisheries were a key resource historically for the various tribes and hapu that have
occupied the area. They were often the subject of dispute and eel weirs were closely
guarded.
• The freshwater environment of the Waihou has been considerably affected by mining,
drainage programmes and perhaps more latterly by farm runoff and siltation associated
with intensive dairying. Enrichment from farm runoff, following the introduction of aerial
topdressing, may also have had an effect on water quality.
• Indigenous habitats are virtually non-existent. The extensive wetlands, particularly of the
lower Waihou, have been considerably reduced. In the case of the Kopuatai reduction is
more than 50%.
14 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

• Farm drainage was extensive from the 1860s, removing many small and medium-sized
areas of wetland associated with main tributaries such as the Hikutaia and smaller
streams such as the Rotokohu on the lower Ohinemuri River. This was a significant
shortfin eel habitat.
• Snags or sunken trees, once numerous in the river and main tributaries, were removed in
the second half of the 19 th century to provide for proper navigation on the river. Hauraki
Maori protested on many occasions, as their removal would affect the significant eel
fishery that the river and its tributaries provided.
• Willow planting in the early 1900s did provide a replacement habitat. However, their
removal as part of the flood control works, for the later Waihou drainage scheme of the
1960s, soon removed this new eel habitat. The result was a marked drop in eel catches
from these areas.
• The drainage schemes of the 20 th century provided vast areas of new habitat for eels,
particularly shortfin. In the event that drains do carry an eel population, accessways and
cleaning problems prevented these areas from reaching their potential.
• Sludge disposal from mines in the Ohinemuri catchment between 1875 and 1920 made this
environment virtually uninhabitable for eels or any other customary fish.
• Silt discharged from the river into the lower Firth of Thames in recent years is believed by
commercial fishers to have contributed to lower eel numbers on the mud flats.
• Traditional harvesting by Maori involved the use of spears (matarau – blind spearing or
spearing with the use of a torch) and traps (hinaki or weirs). Gaffing, tickling and feeling
for eels in holes were also methods employed.
• Weirs have probably not been used on the Waihou since the late 1800s or even earlier.
They were of two types. The first were woven fences with flax stalks or light poles of
lancewood (or white ti tree) as uprights. The second were more complex enclosures
designed to retain and sort eels.
• Traps or hinaki were a major method of catching eels. They would be set alone in a
stream or river, in areas to catch eels leaving or returning to the river from flooded
paddocks, or in a separate weir, or among willows growing in shallow water.
• Eel spearing was a common method used in the tributaries of the upper Piako River and
the streams coming off the Kaimai Ranges in the Te Aroha area. In streams with heavy
watercress beds or other suitable cover, such as reeds, blind spearing would be used.
Otherwise eels would be chased out of the cover and into a suitable stretch of drain that
was shallow, where they would be gaffed or struck with a ripi (the hoop iron from a
barrel).
• Eels were also speared or gaffed at night using torches. This occurred in streams and out
on the mudflats. In the early days spears were made of finely split timber closely bound
and sometimes soaked in fat or oil.
• Tickling or rapa tuna was also used. Once an eel had been found in a hole on the
Kauaeranga a hand-held hook was swiftly inserted and the eel quickly dragged to the
bank.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 15

• Eels do not appear to have been targeted during the autumn migration by the Hauraki
whanui. There was no need as traditional they were always abundant and in good quality.
This appeared to be true for the whole of the Waihou River.
Common smelt, inanga
• Common smelt and the inanga both occur in the river, smelt being the predominant species
and the main contributor to the whitebait fishery today. Changes to the rivers habitat may
have drastically reduced the inanga population of this river.
• Smelt are mainly found in the lower reaches of both the Waihou River and eastern
tributary streams north of the Hikutaia River. Inanga are found further inland and in the
upper reaches of tributary streams.
• The main whitebait fishery is located north of and including the lower Ohinemuri,
Whitebait are recorded from Tirohia and as far south as Te Aroha. No whitebait or smelt
were harvested in the upper tributaries of the Piako, a situation that may have applied to
the Waihou above Waharoa.
• Whitebait would be taken in September between Paeroa and Tirohia (October at
Matatoki) and in the lower Ohinemuri, but not until November at Te Aroha. The nature of
whanake (cabbage tree) flowering indicated how good the season would be. Opening
willow buds were also an indicator at Tirohia, an adaptation to change.
• At Paeroa in the 1930s and 1940s the people would watch out for the arrival of whitebait,
laying peeled sticks in the water at known locations to help to see them as they came up
the river. True whitebait (inanga) always travelled up the sides of the river out of the
current, while juvenile smelt were found in the middle of the river.
Patiki (Yellow-belly flounder)
Kahawai
• The yellow-belly flounder is common in the lower reaches of the Waihou River.
• Kahawai are common in the tidal reaches of the Waihou River, coming as far inland as
the Ohinemuri in the spring and summer.
Aua (Yellow-eyed mullet)
Kanae (Grey mullet)
• Yellow-eyed mullet are common year round in the tidal reaches of the Waihou River,
coming as far inland as the Ohinemuri in the spring and summer. Yellow-eyed mullet
were sometimes taken in set nets, but were not a target fishery this century.
• Grey mullet are common in the lower Waihou and Ohinemuri and occur as far inland as
Te Aroha. Grey mullet were a target fishery in the lower Waihou and Ohinemuri, and
were caught in set nets this century. Few were taken in the Te Aroha area.
Kaio (Freshwater mussel)
• Freshwater mussels were once abundant in the Waihou River. Slow flowing reaches and
pools of tributaries were their preferred habitat.
16 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

• Large beds existed below Te Aroha. However, these no longer exist, possibly due to
environmental problems.
• Freshwater mussels were and still are found in the main tributaries of the upper Piako
River. This is probably the case for the upper Waihou inland of Waharoa.
• Although kaio was common in the Te Aroha area they were not a main food source.
They were commonly harvested in the Matatoki area and preserved in salt.
Pipi
• It was recorded once that pipi was found as far inland as the mouth of the Matatoki
Stream.
Kewai, koura (Freshwater crayfish)
• Freshwater crayfish occur away from the main river in the upper reaches of tributaries
near bush edges. Koura were commonly taken in streams coming off the Kaimai Ranges,
north and south of Te Aroha through the 1930s and 1940s and to a limited extent today.
• Freshwater crayfish were harvested in all the tributaries of the Waihou. They were
caught using bundled mangemange or bracken which was staked into the bottom and left
overnight. The bundle was sometimes baited with slugs or snails or other material.
Manaia Harbour
• The customary fishery of the Manaia Harbour differs markedly, both as a fishery and in
its environment, from the other areas studied in this project. Sea fisheries were the main
food source for the people of this area, along with produce from their gardens. Eels and
whitebait were not a major food item, as was the case for the Waihou River.
• Manaia has long been the main settlement. Temporary fishing and harvesting camps
were set up at other sites around the harbour such as Te Kouma and on Rangipukea
Island in particular.
• The many pa and kainga sites around the harbour suggests that the natural resources of
the area formerly supported a large population.
• Snapper and flounder were the main fish caught, but parore, kahawai, pioke and mullet
also formed a significant part of the catch. There was no significant seasonal pattern for
each species. They all appeared in the harbour in late October, remaining for the summer
months. Pioke and snapper were occasionally taken offshore around the islands or up to
three miles out into the Gulf. Hapuka was rarely fished.
• Pipi and cockle remain key shellfish of the area. This declining fishery is of major
concern to tangata whenua. Mussels, rock oysters, titiko, pupu marama and kina were
also main species. Paua was taken occasionally.
Habitat, seasonality and use
• Manaia Harbour is an extensive estuarine habitat, dominated by the Manaia River and its
channels. The harbour is 60-70% inter-tidal with extensive mangrove areas and salt
water marshes in the eastern section of the harbour and in each of the northern bays.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 17

Tuna (Eel)
Common smelt
Inanga
• Eels are common in the Manaia River, the harbour mangroves and formerly in the small
streams along the southern shoreline of the harbour. Although there are galaxiids (inanga)
in the Manaia River there are no smelt and there is no whitebait fishery.
Kanae (Grey mullet)
• Schools of kanae occur in the river channel, but more frequently in the outer part of the
harbour.
Patiki (Yellow-belly flounder)
Kahawai
Kata, Aua (Yellow-eyed mullet)
Parore (Blackfish)
Tamure (Snapper)
• All of the above fish, with the exception of parore, have small resident adult populations in
the harbour in the late autumn and winter months, with large increases in numbers in the
spring and summer. Fish move into the harbour channels and out onto the harbour flats to
feed with the rising tide.
• Parore frequent the weedy channels of the harbour.
• Snapper probably had much larger resident populations prior to the introduction of Danish
seining in the 1930s and intensive trawling in the late 1960s in the Hauraki Gulf.
• Netting and lining are the main fishing methods for these fish species. Fishing occurred on
the rise and fall of the tides at known fishing grounds around the harbour in the summer
months.
Pioke (Dogfish)
Tupere (School shark)
• Pioke are only present in the Firth of Thames and Manaia Harbour in any numbers in the
spring when they move into shallow waters to bear their live young. Pioke is caught in set
nets inside the harbour however the main fishery for the Manaia people was about 5 km
offshore.
• School shark were occasionally taken in the outer harbour but the main fishery was
located in the Firth of Thames proper.
Pipi
Tuangi (Cockle)
• Manaia is one of the few remaining key pipi fisheries on the west Coromandel coastline.
Increasing pressure on these beds places this fishery at great risk. It requires careful
monitoring of indicators.
• Manaia was formerly ranked as a major cockle fishery. The extensive sub-tidal to mid
tidal beds have now gone, probably due to environmental changes.
18 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Titiko (Mud snail)
Pupu korama (Catseye)
• Titiko are a common feature of the mangroves and muddier flats of the inner harbour.
• Pupu korama usually occur in the outer harbour area on low tidal reefs and rocky shores.
They are also found occasionally in the mangroves like those located in the southern Firth
of Thames.
Tio (Rock oysters)
• New Zealand rock oysters are a feature of the upper inter-tidal in the outer harbour area.
Pacific oysters are not yet common.
Kutai (Green-lipped mussel)
Paua
Kina
Rock lobster
• Green-lipped mussel occur in the outer harbour area along with occasional paua and
limited beds of kina. The main mussel beds are found around the Islands in the harbour
entrance, south to Waikawau and north to Colville Bay. Paua, kina and rock lobster occur
most commonly on sub-tidal reefs north of Manaia.
8 Customary indicator themes
• Customary indicators were defined from an analysis of the following themes: fisheries
abundance and use; tikanga Maori; seasonal calendars; observation and inherited
knowledge.
Definition
• The generic term tohu, a sign or mark, defines some indicators but is not universal.
• Customary indicators identified in this project are of five types, defined as celestial
phenomena, seasons, weather, stages in the life cycle of plants or animals, and observed
changes in fish behaviour or shellfish location.
• The Maori calendar, set according to phases of the moon and star movement, is the
primary celestial indicator. The calendar provided a monthly framework for expected
events: the arrival of whitebait, the best fishing times.
• Seasons were not a sign in themselves. Natural events were the indicators, signalling the
start and end of seasons.
• Monitoring changes in the weather was particularly important for tangata whenua fishing
the waters of Tikapa Moana. Indicators warned of changes in fish behaviour and
approaching bad weather.
• Change in the environment and fisheries was observed in relation to expected events.
Abnormal changes to seasonal patterns or location, once observed, became part of the
local lore.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 19

Fisheries abundance and use
• Kaumatua are adamant that fisheries were abundant and available year round in the areas
studied at the time of European settlement. This situation continued until at least the
1940s for key fisheries. Evidence supports the abundance of specific fisheries in the
decades of the 1930s and 1940s and their rate of decline thereafter.
• European settlement has had an obvious but largely unquantified effect on the Hauraki
environment and on the role of fisheries resources in the tribal world. Drainage, bush
clearance, mining, farming and commercial fishing have all affected the location and
abundance of fisheries.
• Fisheries use in the Hauraki rohe changed progressively with the impact of European
settlement. Customary knowledge, including the use of indicators, also underwent
considerable change as the Hauraki people adjusted to a change of lifestyle. Despite
these changes customary fisheries remains a central taonga of the Hauraki people.
• The location of productive fisheries were well known to tangata whenua and were
protected as important tribal assets. Changes that affected these fisheries and lowered
productivity, affecting the availability of food, were closely observed. In the period
following settlement the tangata whenua role in sustainability has been marginalised.
• Events that have affected Hauraki fisheries habitat, either their extent or productivity,
include: wetland loss; changes in water quality and/or quantity; and the effect of nutrients
and siltation on aquatic ecosystems.
Tikanga Maori
• Respect for the sea and its fisheries, based on kinship, has shaped Hauraki attitudes to
harvesting. Abundance and year round availability of fish and shellfish did not, nor does it
today, imply a lack of incentive to conserve fisheries’ resources. Those who understand
tikanga are careful about harvesting, only taking sufficient to meet legitimate needs.
• Tikanga Maori provides a framework of rules and mechanisms that govern harvesting,
care and respect for customary resources and their environment. Indicators are a
customary practice, one of the mechanisms included in Tikanga Maori. They are
particular to the Hauraki rohe.
Seasonal calendars
• The Maori year, divided into seasons and months, provides an annual framework for
indicator use. Beginning in late May or early June, the Maori year conveys the idea of a
recurring natural cycle rather than a measurement of time which now prevails.
• Moon calendars were used historically throughout Aotearoa. Hauraki Maori had their
own variant of the calendar to guide fishing, gathering and gardening. Particular indicators
mark each month in the Hauraki Maori calendar.
• Many of the kaumatua interviewed still use knowledge of the calendar intuitively.
• The Hauraki Maori calendar is an important benchmark for the measurement of the health
of present day customary fisheries.
• Seasons in the Te Aroha district were predicted from the position of the sun in relation to
Mount Te Aroha.
20 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Observation and tupuna-based knowledge
• Hauraki kaitiaki are the guardians of fisheries and their habitats within the tribal territory.
• Kaitiaki, through observation and tupuna-based knowledge, have a complete understanding
of Hauraki fisheries and their environment. This integrated knowledge provides
advantages to the decision-making processes relating to fisheries.
9 Customary indicators
• Hauraki kaitiaki have an ancient obligation to and responsibility for: the environmental
health of its tribal territories.
• This responsibility includes the development of new management systems to meet
changing requirements for the wellbeing of the Hauraki community.
• The monitoring of carefully sited customary indicators would provide for more accurate
measurement of change and sustainability for the natural resources and environment of
the Hauraki nation.
Hauraki indicator concept
• Hauraki seeks to develop a model for measuring the state, pressure and response status of
its customary resources and environment.
• The model requires a core set of indictors that will measure, in an integrated manner, the
effect of human activities and natural events on the environment and health of particular
resources.
• The model requires qualitative benchmarks to determine levels of sustainability.
• Indicator measurement by kaitiaki is an integral part of this model.
Defining sustainability
• Sustainable management has been defined as protection of the mauri, the life force of the
environment and its resources, to ensure the wellbeing of the people.
• The Resource Management Act 1991 defines sustainable management as protection of
the productive capacity of the environment and resources to provide for community
wellbeing. The Act does not provide a measurable definition of sustainability or of
productive capacity.
• This report suggests the development of qualitative benchmarks which will determine the
cause of change and whether the productive capacity of the environment and resources
are at a sustainable level.
• The benchmarks must provide a context for the location of indicators. The context would
need to describe the Hauraki customary environment and resources as at 1840 and for the
present day.
• Benchmarks would also focus on the environmental components that provided for an
integrated determination of productive capacity.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 21

• An objective of Phase II of the Customary Environmental Performance Indicator
programme is to develop the required benchmarks.
Hauraki indicators
• The primary objective of this project was to define, validate, locate and outline the use of
customary indicators as used by Hauraki tangata whenua. The study sites were the Firth
of Thames, the Manaia Harbour and the Waihou River.
• Customary indicators had to be valid, repeatable and responsive to environmental change.
The economy and social order of the tangata whenua relied upon it.
• Despite significant environmental change the conditions that set the monthly calendar, the
seasons and the Maori year continued. This allowed kaitiaki to observe how fish and
shellfish responded to their new environments, to seek new indicators and to adjust their
fishing practices accordingly.
• Customary indicator types discussed are: seasonal/monthly calendars, natural events; and
the state of resources or the habitat.
• Customary indicators may not be universal, recognising the notion that plant or animal
cycles are governed by the particula r environments in which they are found.
• Unique indicators, catering for significant environmental change in modern times,
illustrates the flexibility of customary approaches.
• Indicator uses discussed include the timeframes for fishing, gathering or planting; the
methods of fishing and type of gear, the detection of resource change; and, the detection
of weather or water condition change.
• Indicators must measure both the rate and extent of change, or harvest readiness, for
ecosystems and their resources.
• Using customary indicators to measure sustainability of resources requires an integrated
reference framework. Measurements from a single customary indicator may indicate a
level of sustainability but must be placed within the wider environment to determine the
degree of sustainability or the direction of change.
• The spatial distribution of customary and conventional indicators and their selection is a
task for stage 2 of the indicator programme.
Hauraki environmental performance indicators in practice
• Sustaining the tribal environment and resources for the wellbeing of Hauraki whanui is a
priority issue for the Hauraki Maori Trust Board. The Board seeks development of a
practicable indicator process in the later stages of the indicator programme.
• Indicator measurement relies firstly on determining measurement needs and the required
combination of customary and conventional indicators.
• The second step is to determine the density and spread of indicator locations needed to
effectively measure process and productivity issues in each environmental component of
Tikapa Moana and its contributing systems.
• The third step involves determination of the indicator measurement mechanism and the
process needed to achieve holistic use of the information.
22 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

• The last step is determination of a low-cost and locally run indicator monitoring capacity.
Developing a Hauraki indicator monitoring capacity is a natural resource objective for the
Board.
Part 3: Te Wero – the challenge
• The Hauraki Maori Trust Board wishes to develop a capacity to monitor environmental
health and resource sustainability within the rohe.
• The Board has identified a three-staged plan towards developing a Hauraki monitoring
capability. The aim is to ensure the protection and restoration of the mauri of the
environment and the wellbeing of the people who are reliant upon its resources
(Kaitiakitanga).
• Developing a monitoring capacity must be underpinned by the definition and identification
of customary indicators. They may be used in conjunction with conventional data to
determine the ecological integrity and state of sustainability of the Hauraki environment.
• More intensive use of the Hauraki environment demands a more proactive approach to
sustain the environment and its resources.
• Stage II of the Hauraki Project is to:
– define customary indicators for remaining fisheries ecosystems excluded in Stage I;
– define set of customary indicators for freshwater, harbour and coastal fisheries;
– determine a trial project for testing indicators which may include complimentary
conventional indicators.
• Stage III of the Hauraki project is to:
– implement a trial project and review results.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 23

Part 1: Background
1 Environmental Performance Indicator program
In September 1995, the Government released, Environment 2010. This document outlined
Government’s intentions for the achievement of:
“... a clean, healthy and unique environment, sustaining nature and peoples need’s and
aspirations.” 1
The Environmental Performance Indicators Programme, coordinated by the Ministry for the
Environment, began in 1995. 2 This is a core study aimed at providing the information needed to
meet Environment 2010 goals. 3 The State of New Zealand’s Environment, released in
October 1997, illustrates the critical need for such information. 4 Environmental Performance
Indicators notes that:
“Maori have developed a complex set of customs and lore to conserve, manage, and protect
their water, land, and air. The Maori view considers all living things have a mauri or life
force.
Maori concepts and lores such as tapu, rahui, mana, kaitiakitanga, and mauri were used to
ensure the resource was sustainably managed and the mauri protected. This system of lore
holds the same validity today as in pre-European times. The Maori approach to
environmental management incorporates the needs and values of people and recognises the
interrelated nature of the natural world.
In developing the EPI Programme and resource management policy in general, the Ministry
for the Environment acknowledges Maori as tangata whenua and Treaty partner, and the
role Maori play in effective resource management.
The Resource Management Act recognises that Maori manage resources and will continue
to have a role in resource management. The Act specifically provides for the relationship of
Maori with their culture and traditions regarding land, water and air. The Ministry for the
Environment recognises the value of indigenous knowledge and seeks not only to
incorporate Maori concepts, but to take full advantage of the alternative to modern science
they provide. The Ministry accepts that western science may not provide all the answers.
The Maori view seeks to ensure that the environment and human activities are managed in
harmony and balance, and with the appreciation that the natural world is dynamic, fragile,
and finite. The environment derives from a spiritual connection, where everything is tied
together as one, and where humans are viewed as servants or guardians of the earth.
1 Ministry for the Environment, 1995. Environment 2010 Strategy. A statement of the Government’s
strategy on the environment. Ministry for the Environment, September 1995, p.7.
2 Ministry for the Environment, 1995. National Environmental Indicators: Building a framework for a
core set. Ministry for the Environment, January 1996.
3 Ministry for the Environment, 1997. Environmental Performance Indicators: Proposals for air,
freshwater and land. Ministry for the Environment, October 1997.
4 Ministry for the Environment, 1977. The State of New Zealand’s Environment, 1997. Ministry for the
Environment and GP Publishing, Wellington.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 25

Unlike western science, which is secular and rational, the Maori view is spiritual and
communal. However, both the Maori and western paradigms recognise increased pressures
on the environment, and that certain restrictions are necessary. Both approaches strive to
strike a balance between managing human activity and maintaining the integrity of the
environment for future generations.” 5
In order to develop an effective environmental performance indicator programme, that will
deliver the information needed to meet the goals of Environment 2010, the Ministry conducted
a series of workshops to develop an indicator framework and processes.
This document is the result of a contract between the Ministry for the Environment and the
Hauraki Maori Trust Board to evaluate customary indicators in specific areas of the tribal
territory. This is one of three iwi-based projects to identify customary environmental indicators
and their value for environmental monitoring.
2 Hauraki environmental indicators project
As a result of the EPI Workshops held in February and April 1998 the Hauraki Maori Trust
Board was contracted to identify customary environmental performance indicators as understood
and used by tangata whenua in the Waihou and Manaia Harbour catchments and in the lower
Firth of Thames.
2.1 Project objectives
The objectives of the study are:
a. to conduct a preliminary investigation into the use of customary environmental indicators
for customary fisheries in the Waihou and Manaia Harbour Catchments and in the lower
Firth of Thames, and to ascertain the effect that an extensively modified river catchment
is having on these catchments;
b. to provide a model, by way of an iwi-specific case study, for the further development of
environmental performance indicators for the marine environment and key freshwater
catchments; and
c. that outcomes from the contract work be used to:
• identify process towards developing Hauraki environmental monitoring capacity;
• identify linkages between iwi/hapu monitoring functions and those of statutory
agencies for State of the Environment monitoring and reporting;
• determine and trial a set of environmental performance indicators based on
customary knowledge of indicators of environmental health for the marine
environment including key freshwater catchments;
• identify potential environmental performance indicators for national State of the
Environment monitoring and reporting.
5 Ministry for the Environment, 1997. Environmental Performance Indicators: Proposals for air,
freshwater and land. Ministry for the Environment, October 1997, p.13.
26 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

The Hauraki Maori Trust Board contracted Bob Cooper of Tai Perspectives and Jim Nicholls to
assist in the project.
2.2 Project outcomes
A draft report was provided to the Ministry for the Environment and discussed at a meeting
between the parties in November 1998. A second draft report was submitted to the Ministry in
January 1999.
A final report is to be submitted by the end of February.
2.3 Study areas
Three study areas were targeted initially to investigate customary indicators used by tangata
whenua to monitor the state of fisheries resources. These were:
a. the Waihou River from the mouth to Te Aroha (referred in the report as the Waihou
River)
b. the eastern and southern parts of the Firth of Thames south of Deadmans Point (referred
in the report as the Firth of Thames); and
c. the Manaia Harbour.
3 Project methodology
3.1 Kaumatua interviews
Two methods were used to gather information required to define and identify customary
indicators used by Hauraki Maori to assess fisheries’ availability, this being the prime aim of the
project. The methods were:
a. a desktop analysis of public source information on fisheries and traditional Hauraki Maori
society; and
b. interviewing kaumatua and gathering oral evidence.
The success of this project depended upon the ability of the research team to gather reliable
customary information from kaumatua.
This was achieved through group interviews with kaumatua. Maps were extremely useful
during the interviews. Site visits and discussions with individual kaumatua followed the group
meetings.
Kaumatua interviews were held in the offices of the Hauraki Maori Trust Board in Paeroa, on
marae or in the homes of kaumatua. Twelve meetings were held, involving 17 Kaumatua both
male and female who were familiar with the study areas.
The initial meetings provided a basic level of information about fisheries resources, customary
indicators, use of resources and location and values of tangata whenua in each area. Later
meetings focused on information that would clarify and build on customary indicators. This
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 27

included a detailed examination of: shellfish beds along the Thames coastline; seasonal calendars
in relation to Firth of Thames finfish; Manaia Harbour fisheries; and, fisheries in the mid Waihou
about Te Aroha. Kaumatua and researchers travelled to several of the sites discussed to
evaluate and add to the information already gathered.
Participants were made aware of the way in which the information would be used and the
approaches being taken to ensure protection and restrict access.
The interviewing team consisted of Bob Cooper, Jim Nicholls and on occasion Josie Anderson
and Lani Parsons. Jim Nicholls and Lani Parsons are both fluent Maori speakers. Written
questions and an explanation of the project were provided to each participant. Most interviews
were taped and a video recording was made in some instances.
The interviews to gather the traditional information was guided by three main objectives:
a. ensuring maximum recall of information achieved through repeat interviews, the use of
maps and other visual aids as well as site visits;
b. to validate the information where possible and note issues that may have adversely
affected continuing use or retention of this knowledge;
c. to acknowledge the status of the information and the role of kaitiaki; and
d. to store, or provide access to, the information gathered, in a manner that would protect it
for the needs of future generation.
A working information protocol was developed for the project to protect the integrity of the
information and sources. The protocol is outlined in Section 3.3.
As a result of these interviews further people were identified as having valuable contributions to
make towards a project of this nature. Time constraints however prevented interviews from
being conducted with them. They will be important for other stages of this project. A list of
names was compiled.
3.2 The historic Hauraki environment
The Hauraki environment and the manner in which it was understood and utilised cannot be
appreciated from modern maps or from a field examination. What is required is a reconstruction
of that environment. This makes possible an appreciation of the context in which customary
indicators were both developed and used by Hauraki whanui to manage their natural resources.
Reconstruction of the Hauraki historic environment was achieved by undertaking a desktop
analysis of customary, historical, technical and scientific information drawn from a wide range of
public sources. An analysis of modern maps provided evidence about the value of indicators
today and of changes in indicator use. An analysis of written historical information provided the
signposts of Maori interaction with their environment. Place names, former settlements and sites
reflected how the natural resources of Maori were valued both historically and today.
3.2.1 Information sources
Information sources used to reconstruct the historic environment included:
28 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

• maps and plans held by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the National Library and
the National Archives;
• block files and Minute Books of the Maori Land Court that provided detailed descriptions
of specific land blocks;
• research reports, written for the Hauraki claim before the Waitangi Tribunal, provided a
guide to Land Block information for some areas; 6
• report by Furey (1996) for the area of Oruarangi pa on the Matatoki stream mouth 7 which
provided an insight into the nature of historic watercourses and wetlands;
• a recent NIWA report on historic wetlands. (B. Clarkson, pers. comm. 1998); 8
• bathymetric maps from NIWA; and
• survey material and aerial photographs from Environment Waikato and Air Maps NZ.
There were many constraints in pulling together the information to reconstruct the historic
environment of the study areas. For instance the material from NIWA, on historic wetlands only
recorded those wetlands over 25 hectares which limited any prediction about the extent of these
important food gathering places. Aerial photographs provide coastline features from the 1940s;
however, inter-tidal areas are rarely shown. The bathymetric chart was drawn mainly from
collector charts made between 1961 and 1989, 9 which were made by the Hydrographic Office
of the Navy. Sounding runs are between 200 and 400 m apart, providing a relatively coarse and
featureless impression of the seabed. Although today a side-scan sonar is used to produce
modern bathymetric maps and can produce an accurate representation of under sea river
systems, sand banks, reefs and algal forests there is little comparison that can be made to the
past. Survey maps of the 1860s-1880s are of limited assistance, unlike those for the South
Island, which were for compilations for large areas of country. 10
The historic environment of the Firth of Thames and the Manaia Harbour can only be partly
determined. The historical nature of the Firth of Thames sub-tidal area is unknown.
6 Alexander, D., 1997. The Hauraki Tribal Lands Part 1: Moehau District, Coromandel and Manaia
District, Whangapoua and Kuaotonu District, Waikawau District, pp.153-225.
Alexander, D., 1997. The Hauraki Tribal Lands Part 2: Mercury Bay District, Tairua and
Whangamata District, Thames and Hikutaia District, pp.147-329.
Alexander, D., 1997. The Hauraki Tribal Lands Part 3: Ohinemuri District, Te Aroha and Paeroa
District, Wairoa and Orere District, pp.153-254.
Alexander, D., 1997. The Hauraki Tribal Lands Part 4: Hauraki Plains District.
7 Furey, L., 1996. Oruarangi: The archaeology and material culture of a Hauraki pa. Bulletin of the
Auckland Institute and Museum 17.
8 Leathwick, J.R., Clarkson, B.D. and Whaley, P.T., 1995. Vegetation of the Waikato Region: Current
and Historical Perspectives. Landcare Research Contract Report: LC9596/022.
9 Mitchell, C.H., 1992. Hauraki Bathymetry, 2nd edition, NZ Oceanogr. Inst. Chart, Coastal Series, 1: 200
000.
10 See, for example, the Timaru Roll Map, LINZ, Christchurch.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 29

Detailed baseline maps could be produced with some accuracy from historical sources however
this was beyond the scope of this project.
Preliminary information for maps illustrating the 1800s environment has been developed for the
Waihou River from the mouth to Te Aroha, excluding the Ohinemuri River above Donnelly’s
Creek. Similar information has been developed for the Manaia Harbour catchment.
Comparison of the 1800s map with that for the 1980s illustrates the significant changes that have
occurred to the river systems, to wetlands and to terrestrial vegetation.
3.3 Hauraki information protocol
Development of an information protocol, to protect customary information and its custodians
during this project, was considered an essential part of the overall project.
The information protocol has three sections:
a. the research approach
b. storage of research information
c. access to research information.
3.3.1 Research approach
In order for the results of this research to have a sense of credibility it was necessary to
determine a set of criteria that would act as a guide from which valid and meaningful outcomes
could be derived. The research methodology must make the outcomes more meaningful to
Maori and consequently more useful to the organisations that commission the research. If
research can be undertaken within a Maori framework then it is possible to develop positive
outcomes for Maori and therefore for New Zealand.
Smith (1990) has produced some useful guidelines to assist researchers in handling Maori
research. 11 He refers to:
The Tiaki (mentor) Model: using Maori to test their ideas and theories against (John
Rangihau-Peter Cleave)
The Whangai (adoption) Model: where the researcher is ‘adopted’ by the subject (Sterling
Whanau-Anne Salmond)
The Power Sharing Model: C. Cuazden’s Interaction between Maori Children and Pakeha
Teachers
The Empowering Outcomes Model: positive beneficial outcomes for Maori first and
foremost (Richard Benton, Language Research)
When establishing criteria for the conduct of this research project the following rules were
applied:
• state: clearly what the research is about.
11 Smith, G., 1990. Research Issues Related to Maori Education. In: The Issue of Research and Maori
(ed.) Research Unit for Maori Education University of Auckland. Monograph No.9 (August 1992)
ISSN 1171-5936, p.8.
30 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

• state: what the research is for
• state: who the research is for
• state: where and when it is likely to be published
• supply copies of the information to the informant before going to print.
Research criteria were developed at a number of Fisheries Committee hui of the Board. Agreed
criteria were repeated again at each of the interviews with kaumatua. This was included in
written material alongside the research questions posed.
It was explained to each participant that the project would:
• identify the nature and use of Hauraki customary fishery indicators;
• be used to develop a capability for Hauraki to monitor the sustainability of fisheries and
their environment;
• provide an outline of how customary information might be stored and how this information
might be accessed and used in the future by tribal members;
• provide options for the use of customary information by external agents.
3.3.2 Storage of research information
Information collected during this project is in the form of interview notes, audio and video tapes.
This is valuable information that must be safeguarded for the use of present and future Hauraki
generations. The information is the property of kaumatua who provided it. Storage of this
information must ensure protection for future use and provide for control of its application by its
guardians and those they entrust to safeguard it.
The Hauraki Maori Trust Board is involved in establishing a Geographical Information System
(GIS) for the storage and retrieval of tribal information. The GIS would allow the customary
fisheries information from the material gathered in this project to be stored and retrieved in ways
that would be useful for monitoring future sustainability. Information in the GIS could only be
used if the person requesting it had the appropriate clearance from kaumatua or those authorised
by them.
3.3.3 Access to research information
The customary information collected for this project has not yet been entered onto a GIS
database. The GIS is still being developed. Nevertheless access to raw data is at the direction
of those kaumatua who provided it.
The criteria that govern the present data are as follows:
• The information has been collected under the rules developed and agreed prior to the
project and explained before each of the interviews.
• The information collected has been used to develop concepts in the Report to the Ministry
for the Environment and to illustrate trends and changes to fisheries and the environment.
Where specific information is used it is attributed to the kaumatua that provided it.
• The draft report has been scrutinised to ensure that sensitive information is protected and
that controversial information is avoided.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 31

• The primary information from this project will be entered onto the GIS database under an
appropriate set of use and access rules.
• Original tapes, notes and other material collected will remain at the offices of the Hauraki
Maori Trust Board for safekeeping. Copies of interviews will be supplied to those
kaumatua who provided them.
4 The people of Hauraki
4.1 The Hauraki region
The tribal estate is a holistic concept encompassing the sky above and the earth below. It
covers a land area of about 1,500,000-1,850,000 acres in addition to the offshore islands in the
Hauraki Gulf. 12
The Coromandel Peninsula is traditionally known as Te Tara o Te Whai (the jagged barb of the
stingray) and the figurative ama (outrigger) with its prow at Mount Te Aroha and its stern at
Mount Moehau. Turoa (1997) describes the geography and landscape of Hauraki:
“Much of the terrain of Hauraki is rugged and mountainous rising high above the deep
valley floor of virgin bush and forest streams. The major waterways have their source in the
hinterland catchment and spill over the flat swamplands before emptying into the inland sea
of Tikapa, the Hauraki Gulf. Sculpted inlets and bays gnaw at the shoreline with precipitous
headlands keeping a vigilant watch on the offshore islands and seas.” 13
The life of Hauraki iwi was much shaped by this environment. Their location demanded that
they become fishers and mariners with the fertile forest providing a supplementary food basket
and the wetlands providing tuna, inanga and other freshwater fish. The temperate climate
assured an abundant food resource and an ideal location for human settlement. Turoa provides a
succinct description of the cultural landscape of Hauraki:
“There was no natural feature which defied description and therefore appropriate naming.
Ranges, ridges, promontories and streams identified tribal and personal boundaries.
Prominent peaks, rivers and seas assumed a personification of great reverence. Every
topographical feature, however insignificant, promoted a commemoration to ancestors,
deeds, events, phenomena and an acknowledgement to atua, the gods of creation.” 14
He also describes the peripheral tribal boundaries of Hauraki, acknowledging that in some areas,
interests overlap and intermingle with the people of Tamaki in the north, Waikato in the west and
Tauranga Moana in the south:
“... commencing at the sunken reefs of Nga Kuri-a-Wharei offshore of Waihi Beach on the
eastern coast, progressing west inland to Mount Te Aroha, thence to Hoe-o-Tainui. It then
follows north along the range line of Te Hapu-a-Kohe and the Hunua Ranges to Moumoukai
and Papakura. The northern boundary includes parts of the Tamaki isthmus, Takapuna,
Whangaparaoa and Mahurangi before terminating at Matakana river estuary south of Cape
12 Hauraki Maori Trust Board, 1997. The Claims. In: The Hauraki Treaty Claims: Volume 1, Hauraki
Maori Trust Board, Paeroa.
13 Turoa, T., 1997. Nga Iwi o Hauraki. The Iwi of Hauraki. In: The Hauraki Treaty Claims: Volume
2. Hauraki Maori Trust Board, Paeroa, p.3.
14 Ibid pp.3-4.
32 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Rodney. The seaward boundary includes parts of the island of Aotea (Great Barrier), and
then southward to its beginning at Nga Kuri-A-Wharei. Included within those margins are
the inner gulf islands of Tikapa Moana and those (except for Tuhua Island) offshore of the
eastern coastline of Te Tai Tamawahine.” 15
On either side of the range are small fertile flats bordering harbours of which Manaia, the home
of Ngati Whanaunga and Ngati Pukenga, is one. Both sheltered and exposed, the many bays,
inlets, harbours, estuaries and precipitous headlands are a feature of an extensive coastline that
forms part of the Firth of Thames.
River outlets of which the Waihou is most significant dissect the coastline. Along the Waihou
River are the alluvial flats, the undulating lowlands and the wetland of the Te Aroha–Paeroa
regions. Here some distance from the coast, the rivers and bush become the important source
of food supply for several Iwi who have occupied this region.
The people of Hauraki were influenced and controlled by their physical and spiritual
environment. As people of the land they had an intrinsic understanding of their environment in
order to survive. They developed skills as hunters and gatherers of food and as agriculturists
developing a sophisticated calendar to ensure that fishing catches were plentiful. and crops
grew abundantly. The temperate climate of Hauraki, the fertile soil and location by the sea
assured an abundant food resource from both the sea, swamplands and forests which sustained
the tangata whenua for over half a dozen centuries.
4.2 The people
The tribal groups within the three study areas include Marutuahu, Ngati Pukenga, Ngati Rahiri
Tumutumu, Ngati Tara Tokanui Tawhaki, Ngati Koi, Nga Marama and Ngati Haua.
Ngati Huarere
Ngati Huarere take their name from Huarere the grand-nephew of Tamatekapua, the ariki
(paramount chief) who disembarked from the Te Arawa canoe when it landed on the peninsular.
He settled in the Whitianga-Whangapaoa area, north east of Coromandel around 1150 AD
(T. Turoa, pers. comm. 1996).
According to White they had 21 pa in the Thames-Kopu vicinity: Tararu (Tararu), Tutukaka
(Thames), Koronae, Poroiti, Totara, (Kopu), Harohanga-kahu, Waikauri, Hurumoimoi,
Ngahuahoe, Tikirahi, (Kirikiri), Teputate, Whetakura, (Kirikiri) Tikioko and Ouehuhia. 16
Many of the pa around the Manaia Harbour were also constructed and occupied by Ngati
Huarere (Toko Renata, pers. comm. 1988). Knowledge of customary indicators may have been
passed down from Ngati Huarere tupuna (Beau Ngamane, Toko Renata, pers. comm. 1988).
15 Ibid, p.4.
16 White, J., 1888. Ancient History of the Maori, his mythology and traditions. Volume 5: Tainui.
Government Printer, Wellington. p.54.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 33

Ngati Hako
Ngati Hako, known as the “iwi noho puku”, the original settlers of the land, are said to be the
descendants of Toi-te-Huatahi who established their presence here following the initial discovery
of New Zealand by Kupe (J. Linstead, pers. comm. 1996).
The Toi influence in Hauraki is seen in the many places that carry his name, ie. Ko Te Paeroa o
Toi for the Coromandel-Colville range. Other descendants of Ngati Hako arrived from Ohope
and Rangitaiki. They migrated to Hauraki and established themselves in many parts of Hauraki
and on the islands before the great migration.
Ngati Rahiri
Rahiri and Puhi-Kai-Ariki took the Mataatua canoe north where the latter formed the powerful
tribe of Ngapuhi. Rahiri, also an ancestor of that tribe had a sub-tribe named after him. As an
old man, he journeyed homewards to the Bay of Plenty and when he reached the present area of
Te Aroha, he ascended the mountain and upon sighting the steam rising at Whakaari (White
Island) his former homeland, he exclaimed “Te Aroha-A-Uta, Te Aroha-Ki-Tai” (My love flows
inland, from where I am standing, even unto the sea). After remaining in Hauraki for a short
time, he continued homewards leaving some of his followers there and they became the tribe of
Ngati Rahiri of that place today. 17
Ngaa Marama
Nga Marama were the descendants of the chieftainess, Marama-Kikohura, one of the wives of
Hoturoa. She had a relationship with another person, of lesser standing, and Hotunui put her to
shore at Hauraki, in the Wharekawa region, where her descendants set up the tribe, Nga
Marama.
They controlled territory from Whangamata to Katikati and Tauranga. They were the buffer
between the Hauraki tribes to the north and Ngai-te-rangi to the south. Nga Marama are said to
be one of the earlier of the Tainui tribes to settle in Hauraki.
The Marutuahu tribes
Marutuahu was the founding ancestor of the Marutuahu tribes which comprise Ngati
Whanaunga, Ngati Tamatera, Ngati Maru and Ngati Paoa. Marutuahu was the son of Hotunui
who left Kawhia to find his father who was living amongst the Uri o Pou in Hauraki. Although
Marutuahu had battles with Te Uri o Pou, he married two sisters of that tribe and had five sons.
Tama-te-ra and Whaanaunga, children of the elder sister Paremoehau, and Te Ngako to the
younger sister, Hineurunga, are the ancestors of modern tribes today.
Ngati Tama-te-ra settled all over the peninsula, around Kennedy Bay, between Thames and
Coromandel and in the Paeroa area. Ngati Whaanaunga settled in the Manaia area. Te Ngako
took his father’s name and formed the Ngati Maru that settled in the Thames region.
17 Turoa, T., 1994. The Tribal Histories of Hauraki (unpublished draft for the Hauraki Maori Trust Board) p.17.
34 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Ngati Tara
Tara was a descendant of Ngati Raukawa occupying the area between Matamata, Tokoroa and
Mangakino. This area was also referred to as the Te Kaokaoroa-a-Patatere, flanked on the east
by the Kaimai ranges, and Maungatatari on the west. After a quarrel with his elder brother Tara
moved from Taumahi on the Waikato River to Hauraki.
He won territory from the Ngati Hako in Ohinemuri occupying their lands at Piraurahi and built a
pa at Kuaoiti by a small stream of that name entering the Ohinemuri in an area now known as
Mill Road. 18 They remain in Waihi at Owharoa and survive in Hauraki as an entity along with
Ngati Tawhaki, Ngati Tokanui and Ngati Koi at Ngahutoitoi 5 km south of Paeroa. 19
Ngati Koi
The descendants of Ngati Koi, from Tainui, say they occupied much of the Ohinemuri lands at
Waihi, Owharoa and Katikati from which they were later driven by local tribes. Ngati Koi did
retain title to some land blocks, which they shared with Ngati Hako, Ngati Tama-te-ra and Ngati
Tara.
Ngati Pukenga
Ngati Pukenga belong to the tribal group known as Tawera of Ngai-Te-Rangi of Tauranga-
Moana. They were considered to be mercenaries. In return for support in a successful
campaign against Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Pukenga was gifted land at Manaia, the Manaia block,
where they remain today. 20
4.3 Hauraki Maori society
Historically Maori in Hauraki lived predominantly on the fertile lowlands along the coast or
waterways, close to food sources and transportation routes. The settlement pattern consisted of
a main village with satellite settlements and fortified pa on nearby hilltops to which people could
retreat in times of warfare.
Often, in times of peace, families would erect temporary lodgings on the coast and live for two
or three months at a time with direct access to the resources of the sea. The river settlements
of Te Pae o Hauraki and Ngahutoitoi, and the hilltop pa of Totara reflect these former settlement
patterns.
Land sales and a re-orientation of lifestyle in the later part of the 1800s disrupted the normal
Hauraki social order. The settlement pattern focused on single villages centered on a marae.
Satellite settlements appear to have been replaced by families living in a rural setting. Fortified
pa were no longer required.
Hauraki Maori no longer focused solely on a subsistence economy based on fisheries and bush
products. People worked small farms, operated as farm labourers or in other labour related
areas including fisheries. Fishing involved small business ownership and external trade with
18 Ibid p.34.
19 Ibid p.35.
20 Mikaire, M., 1993. Ngaati Pukenga, unpublished thesis, Auckland University, 1993, p.42.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 35

Auckland merchants in 1850 or supply to fish sheds in Thames in the 1900s. This was the
pattern that emerged in the 100 years or so after the Treaty, although it had its beginnings in the
Waihou logging ventures of the early 1800s.
Despite this considerable revolution in the Hauraki social order, customary indicators continued
in use for subsistence purposes and by commercial fishers.
Maori social structure
To gain an insight into who are tangata whenua and the different roles they play one must
understand some very basic and essential Maori concepts inherent in the traditional Maori social
structure.
Whanau
The whanau is the basic social unit of Maori society and can consist of up to three or four
generations at any one time. This unit is guided by kaumatua and kuia, and their political
expression is found through hapu and iwi.
Hapu
Hapu are a group of whanau that share one common ancestor. The hapu is usually led by
rangatira, whose mana is fundamental to the direction of a hapu.
It is this level of the tribal structure that usually meets such needs as looking after their local
affairs such as cultivations, mahinga kai, fishing and political affairs. Hapu can make their own
political decisions but are guided by the policies put in place by the iwi political organisation.
Their ancestral rights are guarded jealously.
Iwi
This is the larger grouping of hapu. It exhibits the political and social control when in conflict
with kinship groups. It is a territorial entity and the basis of a wider group ideology. It is
considered self-sufficient and self-governing. Territorial boundaries are of extreme importance
and are often the key subject of disputes with kinship groups. Each individual iwi has its own
tribal political administration.
Hauraki Iwi have traditionally joined together to form an encompassing collective alliance to
exhibit the political and social control of Hauraki when groups outside the tribal structure
threaten their collective wellbeing.
Marae
Marae are those places where all levels of the tribal structure meet for a number of cultural
activities including, deliberating on matters of social, cultural and economic concern, weddings,
tangi, birthdays, fundraising, welcoming visitors, education and training, cultural festivals and the
exchange of traditional knowledge through wananga.
Marae are usually located on hapu or iwi lands and usually encompass (but are not limited to)
atea, meetinghouse, education including kohanga reo, wananga and training units, social and
economic activities, papakainga settlements, parking areas, toilet and sleeping facilities along with
36 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

the places of ngahere, mahinga kai, taonga raranga, taonga rongoa, waahi tapu and waahi
tupuna.
The essential ingredient to marae are that they are long and enduring settlements of tangata
whenua which have retained their social, cultural and economic interface despite the dark ages
of Hauraki history.
Tangata whenua organisations can encompass all levels of the tribal structure and are usually the
mouthpieces of their respective groups within their own area of responsibility.
Hauraki Maori Trust Board
The Hauraki Maori Trust Board is a modern-day organisation established by the whaanui to
advance the political, cultural, social and economic aspirations of the Hauraki tribes. It is a
confederation of tribes which spans across Ngati Paoa, Ngati Whanaunga, Ngati Maru, Ngati
Tamatera, Ngati Hei, Ngati Porou ki Harataunga ki Mataora, Ngai Tai, Ngati Tara Tokanui,
Ngati Rahiri Tumutumu, Patukirikiri, Ngati Pukenga ki Waiau and Ngati Hako.
The Board has undertaken this contract as a collective organisation comprising the above tribes.
Its purpose is to facilitate a process and system which will eventually deliver a Hauraki capacity
to monitor the state of the tribal environment and resources and therefore to protect the mauri of
Te Ao Maori o Hauraki.
4.4 Hauraki Maori population estimates
Population figures provide approximate numbers of Maori residing on the peninsula at the time of
first European contact and about the turn of this century. These figures indicate the likely
impact of such a population on local resources and their need to adopt conservation practices.
There are no accurate population statistics for Hauraki Maori prior to 1886.
As in most other areas, Hauraki population figures were merely estimates determined by sailors
and missionaries. After 1886 census criteria was applied to Maori demography. Early
observations were made by visitors on sailing ships and missionaries. These observations,
outlined in Figure 1, suggest that the population of the whole region was approximately 5000.
Figure 1: Early population estimates 21
Date Commentators Estimates
1769 James Cook – ‘while there were several villages in the Waihou valley
there was no cultivation
Population was
not numerous
1790s Edgar Dell of the ‘Fancy’ – observed large numbers on the Waihou Est. 1500-2000
1801 William Williams of the ‘Royal Admiral’ Est. 4000-5000
1820 Missionary Butler observed 20 villages around Mokoia Est. 4000
1832 Henry Williams noted depopulation in the area attributed to the
Ngapuhi wars
21 Oliver, W.H., 1997. Hauraki Social and Economic Report (draft) Hauraki Maori Trust Board, p.22.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 37

1838 William Williams observations Maori population Est. 4800
1841 Earnest Dieffenbach provides estimates of Ngati Maru population Est. 5000
The native agents of the Crown, who made careful estimates of the number of Maori in the
Hauraki area through the course of their work, are also a source of demographic information.
Their estimates, in Figure 2, put Maori population figures at less than 2000.
Figure 2: Population estimated from native agents
Date Native agent Comments on Hauraki Maori population
1874 E.W. Puckey Est. 1814 Maori plus 30 Waikato including 150 gum-diggers from
other areas
1878 E.W. Puckey Est. 1451 Maori including 50 gum diggers and timber workers of
different tribes from a distance
1881 G.F. Wilkenson Est. 1637 Maori and 50 gum diggers from Te Arawa and 50 from
Waikato and other places
Population estimates between 1886 – 1916, using different census criteria from those used in
1886, indicate in Figure 3 a population of over 2000. The degree of accuracy is generously put
at 10%.
Figure 3: Maori population 1886-1916
Year Population
1886 2,408
1891 2,133
1896 2,376
1901 2,161
1906 2,185
1911 2,055
1916 1,960
5 Te Ao Maori o Hauraki
5.1 Te Ao Maori (The Maori world view)
Te Ao Maori is synonymous with Kaupapa Maori in that it seeks not merely to signify principles
that encompass Maori thinking but also how that thinking influences and shapes the Maori world
view.
Maori are beginning to view issues from a Maori philosophical position. The existence of a
Maori world view is stated in the evidence submitted during the Muriwhenua Treaty claim:
38 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

“... Muriwhenua Maori had their own world view. They maintained a distinct social and
economic order, which had sustained them through a millennium of experience and which
was settled and regularly maintained ...” 22
The definition of the Maori world view according to Nepe is linked to Maori knowledge and
Te Reo Maori:
“[It] is the conceptualisation of Maori knowledge that has been developed through oral
traditions. It is the process by which the Maori mind receives and internalises, differentiates
and formulates ideas and knowledge exclusively through te reo Maori ... It is knowledge
that validates a Maori world view and is not only Maori owned but also Maori controlled ...
Kaupapa Maori knowledge influenced, framed, and regulated Maori society’s kin
relationships and the societal kinship relationships of production and exchange, its
disciplines of power and its system of educating each successive generation.” 23
Nepe believed that the Maori world view set the template of Maori understanding, of its values,
its norms and rules, which sustained Maori existence. She asserted that:
“... the connections that existed between the metaphysical-based Kaupapa Maori
knowledge and societal-based kinship relationships ... would show how the systematic
organisation of Maori societies beliefs, experiences, understandings and interpretations of
the world functioned to formulate its own distinctive body of knowledge.” 24
Although Gray uses different terminology to discuss Te Ao Maori he believes that:
“... [t]he source of Maori consciousness and endeavour pertaining to sustainability are ka
tikaka (values) and ka taoka (prised treasures and resources) ... Tikaka are the values,
beliefs, ethics, norms, customs, knowledge and rituals that emulate from Maori cosmology,
cosmogony, mythology, and anthropological thought and action ... Tikanga Maori in a
sense epitomises the matrix of wisdom and knowledge. It is the womb that gives rise to the
birth and renewal to the spiritual and physical values inherent in our beliefs, motivations
and sense of purpose for the beneficial preservation of the life forces of this world.” 25
Gray claims that:
“the Maori had three great states of reality. The first of these is the Te Korekore which is
the matrix, the primordial womb of the spiritual (wairua) and physical (mauri) life principles.
It is the source of all creation and symbolises a state of potential being. The second state of
reality is Te Po, literally meaning the night, or the realms of darkness. Within this physical
state of reality existed Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatuanuku (Earth Mother) From the
primal parents derived the male and female principles that gave birth, shape and form to all
universal physical forms of the Maori world. Te Po symbolises a state of becoming. [T]he
third state of reality [is] that of Te Ao Marama (The Broad day light) Te Ao Marama
symbolises a state of being.” 26
22 Waitangi Tribunal, 1988. Muriwhenua Fishing Report. In: Waitangi Tribunal Report No 2,
Wellington: Government Printer, pp.189-90.
23 Nepe, T.M., 1991. Te Toi Huarewa Tipuna. Unpublished MA thesis, Auckland University, pp.15-16.
24 Ibid p.20.
25 Gray, Rev. M.M., 1991. Kaitiakitaka o Te Taiao – Maori Philosophical Approaches to Sustainable
Development. Sustainable Land Use Conference, Napier, pp.5-6.
26 Ibid p.7.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 39

The principal detractor of the world view of indigenous people generally and the Maori in
particular has been the concept of positivism which sets out perimeters in which the natural
world might be studied, examined and understood in scientific terms.
“Positivism is above all a philosophy of science. Metaphysical speculation is rejected in
favour of a positive knowledge based on systematic observation and experiment ... As
applied to the human social world the positive method yields a law of successive states
through which each branch of knowledge must pass: first theoretical, then metaphysical and
finally the scientific.” 27
It takes a position that the social world of human beings and human societies can only be viewed
in terms of scientific paradigms. The scientific approach represents three tiers of knowledge
and all societies are at different levels of the three-tiered spectrum. Those societies that deal in
the theoretical and metaphysical are at a lower level of understanding but it is posed that those
which have a scientific basis are at a higher point on the spectrum.
The Maori worldview is holistic recognising the interconnectedness and interdependence of all
things and like all indigenous peoples worldwide, they have always managed change in their
natural environment. The World Commission on Environment and Development 1987 Our
Common Future (p.1) acknowledged the importance of indigenous knowledge to sustainable
management:
“These communities are the repositories of vast accumulations of traditional knowledge and
experience that links humanity with its ancient origins. Their disappearance is a loss for the
larger society, which could learn a great deal from their traditional skills in sustainability,
managing very complex ecological systems.” 28
The Waitangi Tribunal in the Muriwhenua fishing report outlined the environmental principles
that defined the relationship between Maori and nature:
“A reverence of the total creation as a whole. A sense of kinship with all beings. This is
illustrated through the genealogical connection of all natural resources in the universe.
“A sacred regard for the whole of nature and its resources as being gifts derived from the
gods. A sense of responsibility for these gifts as the appointed stewards and guardians. A
distinctive economic ethic of reciprocity. What you take from the environment you return in
kind. A sense of commitment to safeguard all the gifts of nature for future generations.” 29
This concept of holism governs the basis for Maori and their relationship with the environment
and provides the foundations for their resource policy development. Inherent in this approach is
the ethics of inter-generational responsibility and reciprocity. The latter ethic finds expression in
the belief that the condition and health of the natural environment will in turn be a reflection of
the condition and health of tangata whenua. It is the notion of reciprocity that holds the key to
sustainability. This holistic approach has remained consistent despite the colonisation experience
27 Marshall, G. (ed.), 1994. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. Oxford, New York, p.405.
28 The World Bank, 1993, p.1.
29 Waitangi Tribunal, 1988. Muriwhenua Fishing Report. In: Waitangi Tribunal Report No.2,
Wellington: Government Printer.
40 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

and the assimilationist policies of the last 150 years and despite the contemporary reductionist
view that iwi environmental planning systems do not exist. 30
Stories and traditions passed down from generation to generation are also components of the
framework within which iwi relationships with their environment have developed. Knowledge
encapsulated in the form of stories has combined to assist and shape the Maori worldview,
including their understandings and associations with the natural world. Ranginui Walker
highlights the importance of stories to Maori:
“Embedded in the stories are themes and myth messages that provide precedents, models
and social prescription for human behaviour. In some cases the myth messages are so close
to the reality of human behaviour that it is difficult to resolve whether myth is the prototype
or the mirror image of reality.” 31
The telling of stories and the examination of case studies are pivotal and powerful tools through
which resource management issues of concern to Hauraki Iwi may be better understood.
5.2 Te Ao Maori o Hauraki
The world view of Hauraki Maori is encapsulated in the words of Betty Williams in her
description of the relationship between Papatuanuku, Earth Mother, and Ranginui, Sky Father. It
is her view that:
“NATURAL TAONGA have evolved from the union of Papa and Rangi (Earth and Sky).
They include flora, fauna, air, water, soil, minerals, humankind, natural phenomena, sun,
moon, planets, etc., etc. NATURAL TAONGA exist through MAURI, the vital life essence
and energy force that gives everything existence and being. Mauri interconnects
everything in the Universe. The human being is merely an extension, a re-arrangement of
the same living matter, in terms of Mauri and the basic elements which make up water, soil,
minerals, flora, fauna, air, etc. NATURAL TAONGA have an intrinsic value in terms of their
own existence and being, and their value to the interconnected nature of the natural
environment, to the integrity of the Earth, and to human survival.” 32
Williams uses the word kaupapa synonymously with kaupapa Maori. She believes that kaupapa
Maori embraces the spiritual, the metaphysical and the natural in a holistic concept relating man
and the living environment.
“Ki te whakarite, te Taha Wairua, te Taha Hinengaro te Taha Tinana, te Taha Whanau, ki te
Whenua ki a Papa raua ko Rangi, ka tino whai mana te Mauri.”
“(When the Spirit the Mind and the Body (Physical Being), is In harmony with the Land, the
Earth and Sky there is total wellbeing for both Humankind and Nature.)” 33
According to Williams, the human “Being” is merely an extension, and a re-arrangement of the
same living matter, in terms of mauri and the basic elements which make up water, soil, air, flora,
30 Ngamane, L., 1997. Draft Report to Environment Waikato on Regional Plans? Hauraki Maori Trust
Board.
31 Cited in Hodgetts, L.A., 1995.
32 Williams, B., 1998. Submission to the Ministry of Environment on Research Management Reform on
behalf of the Hauraki Maori Trust Board, p.2.
33 Ibid p.8.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 41

fauna, minerals and other natural taonga. Mauri is fundamental to the existence, integrity, and
wellbeing of all things evolving from the union of Earth and Sky. This requires an understanding
of one’s place in, and relationship to the natural world. This understanding flows naturally into
taking the responsibility to ensure that the mauri is sustained and wellbeing and human survival is
assured. Kaupapa Maori is the guiding ethic and intrinsic discipline that will determine the action
of the individual, the group, and the community.
Turoa also adds a Hauraki dimension to the perception of whenua – land.
“Whenua is conceptualised as the spiritual and physical body of Papatuanuku, Earth
Mother. Papatuanuku is a creator, sustainer, healer, nurturer, giver and receiver of life. Her
various roles are necessary to safeguard the continued survival of her many offspring,
including Maori. Descent from Papatuanuku ancestrally binds Maori to the land and the
land to Maori. Maori are not only possessors of the land, the land are the possessor of
Maori. This cyclic reciprocity between Maori and Papatuanuku is reflected in the return to
her earthly fold at death and the placement of placenta in its earthly resting place at birth.” 34
It is this holistic view of spirituality that is embedded in Hauraki Maori thinking that links the
physical elements of nature with the Maori ancestral past.
5.2.1 The instruments of Te Ao Maori and the environment
The life principles that govern Hauraki Maori are reflected in tikanga (the customary) practices
of the past that are still applied today. They bind Te Ao Maori with the environment and are
linked to kaitiakitanga, the practice of environmental protection. Tohu are the signposts or
indicators that directed tikanga and kaitiakitanga.
Mauri
Mauri is the life force that impacts on all aspects of Maori existence. The concept of mauri is
fundamental to the exercise of kaitiakitanga.
Maori perceive certain qualities and forces pertaining to life and existence. The existence of the
dimensional planes of Te Taha Wairua (spiritual), Te Taha Tinana (physical and economic), Te
Taha Hinengaro (intellectual) and Te Taha Whanau (social) is one example of the holistic
perspective of Maori.
The essence of mauri (life energy principle) is strongly linked to the ideology of wehi (awesome
respect for a greater power), ihi (the exaltation derived from the respect of a greater power) and
mana (authority, prestige, dignity) which interrelate and depend upon each other for existence
and validation. These conceptual approaches illustrate the interconnectedness of all things in the
universe and the belief that when all aspects of a person, a resource or a place are balanced,
there is harmony.
Mauri then is the vital energy force that gives being and form to all things in the universe. Mauri
also provides the interconnection between humankind and the natural environment. Decisions
34 Turoa, T., originally taken from a submission to the Thames Coromandel District Council on the
Thames Coromandel District Council Town and Country Planning Scheme in 1987 by Betty Williams
and others. It also appears in the Take Taiao, a submission of the Thames Coromandel District Plan
(November 1996) from the Hauraki Maori Trust Board, p.54.
42 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

made and controls imposed were focused on sustaining the mauri to ensure that the balance was
maintained between people and the natural and spiritual worlds.
Te Ao Turoa is used by Harmsworth to mean sustainability and to illustrate the link to mauri.
The term:
“... encompasses the view that nature has its own force (te mauri) which should be
sustained both physically, culturally and spiritually to ensure a societies survival. If the
force becomes damaged or transgressed in the environment by factors such as pollution,
contamination, or degradation people are ultimately affected and a societies survival
becomes increasingly threatened.” 35
Material mauri were also used in the form of a stone or shrine and mauri also existed through
taniwha and tupua kaitiaki. The Waihou, the Firth of Thames and the Manaia Harbour have
their taniwha and tupua guardians. 36
These mauri would indicate or protect the vitality and wellbeing of a place, forest, river or people
and would provide the protection necessary for their continued wellbeing.
At a community level this meant taking responsibility for your own actions, exercising
kaitiakitanga or tikanga as a tiaki (guardian), as an individual or as a member of a whanau, hapu
or iwi by consciously doing things that were respectful to the domain of atua and their gifts.
Tapu
The Maori environmental ethic was expressed through the laws of tapu. These laws utilised
prohibitions to sustain, maintain, conserve, protect and restore:
“Tapu is a highly complex and sacred institution relating to the preservation and restoration
of the life energy principle (mauri) of anything that was vital to the survival of the
community. These included the earth and its natural resources, material things, places,
people, events, childbirth, death, marriage, exhumation, knowledge, customs and so on.” 37
“Tapu involved imposing a prohibition or ban on anything when it was evident that the mauri was
devitalised. Tapu gave time for that force to be restored, revitalised, or preserved. The prohibition
was either for life or for a certain period determined by the community. Tapu is an invisible force
representing the vital power of the gods.
Respect for the gods was the strongest force in Maori life for it was believed that the mauri came from
the gods who represented the Supreme Power.
Tapu was carried in the minds of the people.” 38
The laws of tapu engendered the notion of community responsibility and reciprocity to their
natural environment. This concept is discussed further:
35 Harmsworth, G.R., 1995. Maori values for land-use planning. Landcare Research Report: Discussion
Document, 15 June.
36 McEnteer, T.J., 1992. Report to the Minister of Conservation on Tikapa Moana. Hauraki Maori Trust
Board, November.
37 Williams, B., 1987. Submission to the Thames Coromandel District Council on the Thames Coromandel
District Council Town and Country Planning Scheme, p.16.
38 Hauraki Maori District Council Planning Group, 1987, p.15.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 43

“Tapu challenged the people to maintain integrity in the interests of their own survival,
survival of the earth and all natural things, and of generations to come. Above all tapu was
the supreme regulator of life.” 39
It also re-emphasises that resource management for Maori is about recognising and providing for
the physical and metaphysical dimensions of a resource.
Rahui
Rahui refers to a process of decision making by local communities that is open and participatory
and that enables good decisions to be made and implemented on important issues. Rahui literally
refers to a “day of gathering”. A hui would be called to discuss issues of such significance that
they may warrant the application of tapu in order to restore the balance of a resource or a
person or a place. Today rahui refers to the shortened form of rahui tapu and is taken to mean
that a tapu or prohibition has been implemented.
Traditionally, rahui were placed on people, places and events and the community looked to those
who were accorded the responsibility to impose the tapu. The depletion of kaimoana grounds,
the pollution of rivers, anything that had the potential to have adverse effects on the community
and its environment signalled the potential use of rahui. This usually involved invoking the laws
of tapu as relevant to each particular circumstance.
A post (pou raahui), sometimes carved, was placed in the location of the rahui to warn the
people of the tapu. Such a sign indicated a prohibited area. Trespass or defiance was an
offence against the law of tapu. This was an important part of rahui. It monitored the
community adherence to the tapu and provided the necessary information to assess whether the
environmental outcomes sought were being achieved.
Kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga is the contemporary term used to describe the Maori environmental management
system and its practitioners, who are kaitiaki and who act as the interface between the secular
and spiritual worlds.
The belief that the natural world is the domain of atua and that all things, both tangible and
intangible are interconnected and possess a life energy principle or mauri that must be sustained
underpins its terms of reference. If the mauri is not sustained, then the sustainability of the
resource is at risk, and in turn, this will reflect upon the wellbeing of the people.
As kaitiaki, Hauraki Maori have an ancestral obligation to protect and maintain the mauri of all
things. Mauriora Ki Te Ao notes that:
“Kaitiaki are the interface between the secular and spiritual worlds, as the mana for kaitiaki is
derived from mana whenua.” 40
39 Hauraki Maori District Council Planning Group, 1987, p.17.
40 Te Puni Kokiri, 1993. Mauriora Ki Te Ao. An Introduction to Environmental and Resource
Management Planning. Ministry for Maori Development.
44 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

These responsibilities extend to the protection of other forms of kaitiaki that have guarded
special places since time immemorial. The names of places can also indicate specific
environmental controls required for that particular place.
The obligation is ancestral. It is not a job, it is an ancient responsibility that necessitates tangata
whenua consultation with those whose activities may threaten or violate the mauri, whether
through physical activities or statutory processes.
As explained in Nga Kai o te Moana:
“... kaitiakitanga is not a passive custodianship. Neither is it simply the exercise of
traditional property rights. It is an active exercise of authority in a manner that benefits the
resource and ensures its continuance.” 41
The kaitiaki ethos approaches the environment in a holistic sense where land, air, waters, soils,
minerals, energy, plants, animals, birds, rivers, trees, people all interact and affect each other.
People from any stratum of the tribal structure can act as kaitiaki, largely depending on the
nature of the resource issue. Tikanga provides a system of checks and balances which ensures
the correct course of action. Mauri was traditionally maintained using tikanga components
including karakia, kawa (protocol), tapu, raahui and whakanoa.
Kaitiakitanga is a concept that is included in both the Resource Management Act 1991 and the
Fisheries Act 1996. The Ministry of Fisheries, and local and regional councils, have yet to
develop, with tangata whenua, practical interpretations of kaitiakitanga as part of their
management processes.
Customary indicators, as a traditional practice, are a key instrument of kaitiakitanga. Developing
a Hauraki capacity that utilises customary indicators in a contemporary manner is a task for the
second phase of this project.
Te Reo Maori
In recognising the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral
taonga an understanding of te reo (language) is required. This is also in line with the spirit of
partnership envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi.
There is an inextricable link between the language, places, people and events. Language
therefore validated the experiences, which related the people to our natural resources and vice
versa. Iwi for example means the relationship of the entire tribal group. Iwi derives from koiwi
generally meaning bones. Kiwi is a contraction of Koiwi and is conceptualised by some iwi as
being the first bird with a skeletal structure. The ngaio tree derives its name from the first
breath of Te Io, the Supreme Being, and therefore indicates the importance of that tree to Maori
culture and traditions. Whanau means family. It also means birth. Hapu means sub-tribe or
group of whanau. It also means being with child.
41 Te Puni Kokiri, 1993. Nga Kai o te Moana. Maori Environmental Resource Management. Ministry
for Maori Development, June.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 45

5.2.2 Nga taonga o ratou ma
The taonga or physical treasures of Hauraki that have been left for this and future generations to
preserve in their kaitiakitanga role include:
Nga rohe moana
Hauraki are peoples of the sea: Tikapa on the west, Te Tai Tamawahine on the east, home to
our motu, our fisheries, and waahi tapu, required for physical and spiritual sustenance. The
identity of Hauraki is intertwined with the sea. The Hauraki coastline is subject to extreme
pressures, coastal development, sewage discharges and public and vehicle access onto kaimoana
grounds and waahi tapu sites, sedimentation, marine reserves and marinas. These things impinge
and impact on the sea and in turn on Maori wellbeing. The sea, its shoreline, the lands and
mountains adjacent; there are no distinctions drawn between these places as all interact and
affect each other and therefore they must be managed as one, holistically.
Hauraki were a predominantly coastal people with settlements located around the harbours,
estuaries and beaches of the entire coastline and at Te Aroha, Waihou, Hoe o Tainui inland.
These are the areas that were attractive to the incoming settler communities for residences,
farms and townships.
Regional and district councils identify major development plans over the next 10 years. It is the
view of the Board that future developments, including conservation work by community groups,
public access, reserve management and in particular, subdivision, must be compatible with a
sustainable environment and the cultural preferences of tangata whenua. Any indicators
programme must be capable of both sustainability and the impact of development on the cultural
heritage of the Hauraki people.
Nga awa
The rivers of Hauraki are conceptualised as the ribs of the ancestors which plummet from the
misty summits, flow into the seas, forming abundant swamplands and wetlands beneath.
They are the sources of wai (water) and their spiritual associations with tangata whenua. The
mauri of an awa is a taonga to the tribes people of Hauraki. Rivers were used for sacred and
ritual purposes, for healing, and were demarcation lines between one hapu and another.
Rivers are the nurturing grounds for tuna and inanga, which are an abundant food source and
customary fishery of Hauraki. Their banks contain waahi tapu, most of which have been
destroyed through flood protection works. Poor land management practices, forestry, industrial
activities, damming of sacred waterways, community sewage and other wastes all impinge upon
the mauri of our awa.
Nga wai
As kaitiaki, the maintenance of the mauri of water is the key to ensuring the physical and
spiritual survival of humankind and all living things. As Ngamane explains:
“Water represents the lifeblood of Papatuanuku (Earth Mother) and the tears of Ranginui
(Sky Father). It plays a central role in both the spiritual and secular worlds of Hauraki iwi.
Water and waterbodies are essential elements of life and their mauri must be sustained if
human and ecosystem needs now and into the future are to be met. Integral to our
46 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

discussion on water and waterbodies are the customary fisheries resources that exist within,
including their ecosystems and habitats.” 42
Monitoring the health of the mauri of water and waterbodies through the use of customary
indicators is a key task for later phases of the project.
Maunga
Maunga (mountains) have intrinsic value and are places of great spiritual and physical
associations and are essential to the wellbeing of tangata whenua.
They provide us with clean water to drink, contain tapu places and provide the link between our
past our whakapapa and ourselves. Different maunga are particularly sacred to different iwi,
hapu and whanau. To Hauraki their importance and our kaitiaki role is conceptualised in the
ancient Hauraki waka with its sternpost at Moehau in the north and its prow being the sacred
summits of Te Aroha in the south.
Mahinga kai
Mahinga kai are our food baskets of the land and sea where tangata whenua have gathered their
food since beyond living memory.
Mahinga mataitai are subject to extreme pressures from the visitors who come to Hauraki.
Kaimoana is overfished, sewage is discharged into our food basket by boaties and coastal
communities. Inappropriate land management practices cause run-off and sedimentation, which
affect the health of shellfisheries.
Developing practical monitoring processes that utilise customary indicators is the first step
towards protecting this food basket, and the habitats and ecosystems which nurture them.
Recognition of this kaitiaki role, and its embodiment within the decision-making process, is an
assurance tangata whenua require. This would ensure they are sustained and enhanced for
present and future generations.
Taonga raranga
Taonga raranga are those materials used for weaving and other traditional arts. The remnant
areas of taonga raranga must be preserved for our use and continued access.
Taonga rongoa
Taonga rongoa are those materials that are used by tangata whenua for healing and medicinal
qualities. The remnant areas of taonga rongoa left to Maori today must be preserved for
continued use.
The people of Hauraki must apply their right as kaitiaki to influence and protect the resource
of Hauraki for those generations yet unborn.
42 Ngamane, L., 1997. Draft Report to Environment Waikato on Regional Plans? Hauraki Maori Trust
Board.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 47

6 Environments of study areas
This section of the study provides a brief description of the physical environments of the three
areas studied. Major environmental changes that have occurred since European settlement and
their impacts have also been described.
The Hauraki environment and its topography is shown in Map 1. Taimoana Turoa describes the
geographic extent of the tribal territory as follows:
“The peripheral boundary of the Hauraki can generally be described as commencing at the
sunken reefs of Nga Kuri-a-Wharei offshore of Waihi Beach on the eastern coast,
progressing west inland to Mount Te Aroha, thence to Hoe-o-Tainui. It then follows north
along the range line of Te Hapu-a-Kohe and the Hunua Ranges to Moumoukai and
Papakura. The northern boundary includes parts of the Tamaki isthmus, Takapuna,
Whangaparaoa and Mahurangi before terminating at Matakana river estuary south of Cape
Rodney. The seaward boundary includes parts of the island of Aotea (Great Barrier), and
then southward to its beginning at Nga Kuri-a-Wharei. Included within those margins are
the inner gulf islands of Tikapa Moana and those (except for Tuhua island) offshore of the
eastern coastline of Te Tai Tamawahine.” 43
As can be seen from Map 1, there are three main geographic components of the Hauraki tribal
territory. The first is Tikapa Moana, which includes the Hauraki Gulf, the Firth of Thames, the
adjoining coastal lands and Islands. The second is the Coromandel Range and Peninsula,
extending southwards as the Kaimai Range, with its numerous harbours and coastal hill country
extending to the northern end of Tauranga harbour. The third feature is the Hauraki flood plain
of the Waihou, Piako and Waitakaruru Rivers between the Kaimai/Coromandel Range to the
east and the Hapuakohe hills of the Central Hill Country to the west. This environment,
occupied for over 800 years by Hauraki Maori was the foundation upon which customary
indicators were forged, used and refined to meet the challenges of each time period.
43 Turoa, T., 1997. Nga Iwi o Hauraki: The Iwi of Hauraki. The Hauraki Treaty Claims Volume 2.
Hauraki Maori Trust Board, Paeroa.
48 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Map 1: Hauraki region
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 49

The value of customary indicators in today’s changed environment has been one of the questions
raised throughout this project. Examining the ways in which customary knowledge has been
used, both in pre-settlement times and through the major environmental changes which have
occurred since then, may provide some guidance for their use today. Although indicators were
developed in an environment that is vastly different from today’s, the physical processes that
drive and nurture Hauraki ecosystems may not differ greatly.
The three study areas were chosen to provide diversity in the major geographic elements of the
tribal territory. The Waihou River is a dominant floodplain feature, the Firth of Thames is a
central territorial element that integrates floodplain and harbour elements, and the Manaia
catchment represents a Coromandel Peninsula harbour.
It must be noted that this study does not cover the entire tribal rohe of Hauraki and excludes the
western side of the Firth of Thames north of Kaiaua, the outer coastal seas, islands and lands of
Tikapa Moana, and the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula south to Waihi.
6.1 Firth of Thames
The Firth of Thames, a central component of the Hauraki tribal territory, is the outlet of the
rivers of the Hauraki flood plain and a conduit for the ebb and flow of the tides of Tikapa
Moana, the harbours of the western Coromandel Peninsula and a pathway for the seasonal
migrations of tuna, tamure, patiki and many other fish. Trade, travel and food gathering centred
historically on this shallow waterway which was a focus of the social order of many Hauraki
settlements.
Understanding and respecting the nature and the moods of this waterway, its fisheries and other
resources were vital to the Hauraki people. Harvesting techniques, both historically and in some
cases to the present day, showed a level of sophistication and efficiency that relied on natural
environmental indicators. These indicators were used to pinpoint the availability of fish and
insure against sudden calamity caused by weather. Such information would have been important
under intensive fishing regimes such as those reported historically for flounder on some of the
southern shorelines of the Firth of Thames. 44 Similarly the economy involved in setting beach
seines from beaches of the western Firth of Thames for example would have required a
considerable knowledge of fish movement and weather patterns to ensure success.
6.1.1 The physical environment
Hauraki people living on the edge of the Firth of Thames gathered shellfish from a variety of
shorelines. They fished for many species of fish in the clean waters of an extensive shallow sea
some 40 km in depth and up to 20 km in width (see Map 2). 45
The nature of the shoreline and seabed of the Firth of Thames today is probably superficially
similar to that of pre-European times (see Map 3). 46 The southern part of the Firth of Thames
44 Anderson, R., 1997. The Crown, the Treaty, and the Hauraki tribes 1800-1885. The Hauraki Treaty
Claims Volume 2. Hauraki Maori Trust Board, Paeroa, pp.12, 156-157, 159, 163, 165, 170, 172, 191, 209,
211-212.
45 Mitchell, C.H., 1992. Hauraki Bathymetry, 2nd edition, NZ Oceanogr. Inst. Chart, Coastal Series, 1: 200
000.
50 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

and the eastern coastline north, at least the township of Thames, shows the most change. The
seabed in the southern Firth of Thames may have been of a sandier nature historically (Charley
Kipa pers. comm. 1998).
46 Carter, L. and Eade, J.V., 1980. Hauraki Sediments, NZ Oceanogr. Inst. Chart, Coastal Series, 1: 200
000.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 51

Map 2: Hauraki bathymetry
52 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Map 3: Hauraki seabed sediments
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 53

There is little scientific information concerning the effect of environmental impacts on the
shellfisheries of the Firth of Thames, or their habitat. The considerable silt load entering the sea
from the Waihou and Piako rivers is and has historically been the main visible environmental
impact in the Firth of Thames. Limited sediment sampling is conducted by Environment Waikato
in the Waihou, Piako and Kauaeranga Rivers. This is believed to “... monitor local problems ...
[and provide a] ... regional coverage of suspended sediment yield.” 47 It is unlikely that the
spread or location of stations would be adequate to measure the origin of sediment contributions
or their impact on the Firth of Thames.
In recent discussions between the Hauraki Maori Trust Board and Environment Waikato,
Council has acknowledged the need to increase environmental monitoring in the Firth of Thames
in regard to the possible impacts of mussel farming on water and seabed quality.
The extent of monitoring by the Auckland Regional Council for the northwestern portion of the
Firth of Thames has not been investigated.
Anecdotal information from kaumatua provides clear evidence of change to the habitat of pipi
and cockle shellfisheries in the southern Firth of Thames. Pipi beds were still abundant in
extensive beds in the period 1920–1940 between the Kauaeranga River and Tararu, and the
Waitakaruru River and Miranda. The inter-tidal mud flats in these areas were still firm enough
to take horses and gigs. Since that time these inter-tidal flats have become muddier and will no
longer support a human, let alone a horse! Extensive areas of these inter-tidal flats have been
lost through reclamation in the vicinity of Thames.
Changes in the environment of areas of mangrove and adjacent mudflats in the vicinity of the
Thames aerodrome are thought to have affected local pupu and titiko beds. Kaumatua noted
that the mangroves were once rich with pupu (cats eye) and the mud flats with titiko. Pupu are
no longer present and titiko (mud snail) are present in greatly reduced numbers. Kaumatua state
that the shoreline environment of pipi and cockle fisheries along the eastern edge of the Firth of
Thames north of Tararu remain much as they were historically.
Refer to Map 3 on Hauraki seabed sediments.
Hauraki fishers understood, as do their modern counterparts today, the ebb and flow pattern of
the tide in the Firth of Thames and adjoining harbours. Oceanographic studies have charted tidal
movement and the range of winter and summer temperatures. 48 These environmental
parameters were understood by Hauraki people in terms of the seasonal cycle of fish entering
and leaving the Firth of Thames and adjacent harbours and rivers. Current and wind patterns, in
conjunction with tidal state, were well known in relation to the timing of fishing and gear setting.
47 Williams, M.B., 1996. Environmental Data Report 1996. Environment Waikato Technical Report
1997/7.
48 Proctor, R. and Greig, M.J.N., 1989. A numerical model investigation of the residual circulation in
Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. NZ Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 23: 421-442.
Greig, M.J., 1990. Circulation in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. NZ Journal of Marine and
Freshwater Research 24: 141-50.
54 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

6.1.2 The biological environment
The biological productivity of the Firth of Thames was well known to Hauraki Maori. The vast
shellfisheries and the bounty of the seasonal migrations of patiki, tamure and other fish were
indicators of abundance.
Benthic communities of the seabed, presumed to be predominantly of shellfish, polychaete
worms and small crustacea, historically supported and attracted an abundant fishery: particularly
flounder, snapper and sharks. Information on the nature of the benthic community is based on
the observations of kaumatua and commercial fishers (Charley Kipa pers. comm. 1998) and
scientific studies. 49
Extensive sub-tidal beds of green-lipped mussels, in offshore beds from Kaiaua north to Ponui
Island, were well known (see Map 4). 50 Shoreline and shallow reef beds of mussels were
extensive along the whole of the eastern Firth of Thames shoreline, except for a period of
intensive picking in the late 1960s, prior to the start of mussel farming.
Refer to Map 4 that outlines the distribution of Green-lipped mussel in the Hauraki Gulf prior to
1958 and in 1961.
The distribution of shellfish communities along the western shoreline of the Firth of Thames is
illustrated in Figure 4. 51 Extensive mudflats and mangrove areas dominated the southern Firth of
Thames between Kaiaua and Tararu.
The eastern shoreline of the Firth of Thames extends to Deadmans Point, north of Wilsons Bay.
This shoreline is more exposed than the western side of the Firth of Thames. Manaia,
Te Kouma and Coromandel harbours and Colville Bay are a feature of this coast.
The 27 km of coast between Tararu and Wilsons Bay is a series of bays that are bounded by
small reefs and dominated by the deltas of more than twenty streams draining the steep western
face of the Coromandel Range. The deltas are composed of clean sand and gravel, with a
surface covering of gravel and small cobbles. This is the site of the main pipi fishery. Between
the stream deltas are small sweeping beaches of sand or gravelly sand, which often grades into
sandy sub-tidal environments, the previous location of the main cockle fishery, eg. Te Mata.
Sub-tidal reefs increase north of Deadmans Point, the cleaner, more turbulent waters supporting
an increasing algal presence. This is the site of a small paua and rock lobster fishery and
formerly extensive kina beds.
49 King et al., 1985. Coastal and marine ecological areas of New Zealand. Department of Lands and
Survey, Information Series No 15/1985.
Grange, K., 1990. The distribution of benthic communities in the Hauraki Gulf. Report prepared for
Kingett Mitchell and Associates Ltd by the New Zealand Oceanographic Institute.
Auckland Regional Authority, 1972. A Recreation Resource Area: Kawakawa Bay to Miranda.
Planning Division Auckland Regional Authority, April.
50 Auckland Regional Authority, 1972. A recreation resource area Kawakawa Bay to Miranda.
Planning Division, Auckland Regional Authority, June.
51 Auckland Regional Authority, 1972. A recreation resource area Kawakawa Bay to Miranda.
Planning Division, Auckland Regional Authority, June.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 55

Map 4: Distribution of green-lipped mussel in the Hauraki Gulf prior to 1958 and in 1961
56 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Figure 4: Distribution of shellfish communities along the western shoreline of the Firth of
Thames
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 57

6.1.3 Historical environmental impacts
Hauraki customary fishery indicators were developed in a pristine environment. The local Maori
population was probably of a size that led to few environmental impacts, the effects of fire on
local forests being the major exception. 52
Various publications comment on changes to the Firth of Thames caused by:
• massive siltation as a result of mining in the Ohinemuri catchment of the Waihou;
• massive siltation and the deposit of debris as a result of deforestation of the Coromandel
and Kaimai ranges;
• the drainage schemes of the last hundred years; and
• land use, particularly intensive dairy farming of recent years. 53
The nature, extent and effect of these impacts have in the main never been quantified.
6.2 Waihou River
The Waihou and adjoining Piako rivers are the dominant drainage system for the Hauraki Plains
and the southeastern Waikato. Extensively influenced by events in their catchments, they have a
major impact on the environment of the Firth of Thames.
Historically the Waihou was a lowland river system with extensive wetlands, set among
extensive floodplain and hill country bush. Today much of the original vegetation is gone,
replaced to a large extent by introduced pasture species. Wetlands and the original habitats of
lowland and hill country streams have been dramatically reduced and altered. The tidal influence
reaches as far inla nd as Te Aroha, saltwater penetrating as far inland as the Hikutaia river.
There is no comprehensive account of the modern river environment.
52 McGlone, M.S., 1983a. Polynesian deforestation of New Zealand: a preliminary synthesis.
Archaeology in Oceania 18: 11-25.
McGlone, M.S., 1983b. The history of New Zealand forests since the last glaciation, pp.1-17. In:
Thompson, K., Hodder, A.P.H. and Edmonds, A.S. (eds.). Lowland forest in New Zealand.
Proceedings of a symposium held at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, 27-28 May 1980. University
of Waikato, Hamilton, 206 pp.
53 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group/
Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1.
Allen et al, 1994. Taskforce Green/University of Auckland archaeological project, Waihou River
(1993). Dept of Anthropology, University of Auckland.
Furey, L., 1996. Oruarangi: The archaeology and material culture of a Hauraki pa. Bulletin of the
Auckland Institute and Museum 17.
Thorp, H.R., 1976. The draining of a swamp. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal, June.
Thorp, H.R., 1977. Drainage of the plains. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal June.
Thorp, F., 1971. Rotokohu Valley – Paeroa 1876-1971. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal 8(1).
58 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

6.2.1 The physical environment
The Waihou River extends for 128 km from Tikapa Moana to Te Aroha and then heads south of
Te Aroha into the territory of Ngati Haua. The river drains the western slopes of the
Coromandel and Kaimai ranges whose slope and high rainfall result in a rapid concentrate of
runoff to the main river system. A large area of plains and rolling country in the Matamata
Putararu district is also drained to the Waihou. 54
Cook and his botanists, Banks and Solander, noted the immense kahikatea forests of the Waihou
River lowlands.
The Waihou River system is identified in Map 5.
At about 1840 all of the lower Waihou and significant sections of the upper river were in
kahikatea swamp forest. The hill country to the east of the river was in kauri/conifer – broadleaf
forest. To the west and south of Te Aroha, particularly between present day Morrinsville
and Putararu, was dominated by secondary vegetation. Almost the whole of the Waihou
catchment is today in pasture. The hilly area to the east of the river, once a continuous strip of
kauri/conifer-broadleaf forest, is now a mosaic of pasture, scrub conifer/broadleaf and small
patches of kauri. 55
The main stems of the lower Waihou and Piako and the lower reaches of their main tributaries
provided one of the largest wetland systems in the North Island historically. This area, as far
inland as Ngatea, became an immense lake over the winter months. 56
Hauraki Maori in pre-European times viewed the giant Waihou-Piako wetland as a food basket
of great value. They built their settlements on raised platforms or terraces or hill sites adjacent
to the river. 57
The historical climate of the Waihou was probably an extension of that enjoyed by the Firth of
Thames. The hill country on either side of the Firth continued inland along the
Coromandel/Kaimai range in the west and the Hunua Range and Hapuakohe hills to the east
modifies the prevailing northwesterlies south across the Hauraki plains. 58 Today this provides
clearer skies and a warmer, drier climate than prevails immediately to the west and east of this
river basin.
54 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1.
55 Leathwick, J.R., Clarkson, B.D. and Whaley, P.T., 1995. Vegetation of the Waikato Region: Current and
Historical Perspectives. Landcare Research Contract Report: LC9596/022, Maps 4 and 5.
56 Anderson, R. and Alexander, D., 1997. The Crown, The Treaty, and the Hauraki Tribes 1880-1980:
Supporting Papers. The Hauraki Treaty Claims, Volume 7, pp.190-91.
57 Furey, L., 1996. Oruarangi: The archaeology and material culture of a Hauraki pa. Bulletin of the
Auckland Institute and Museum 17.
58 Auckland Regional Authority, 1972. A recreation resource area Kawakawa Bay to Miranda.
Planning Division, Auckland Regional Authority, June.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 59

This was the riverine environment of the Waihou. In this environment Hauraki settlements
tended to be adjacent to the main waterways and their associated swamps. These were the
major source of food and other natural resources.
60 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Map 5: The Waihou River system
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 61

The river and its main tributaries were the canoe roads of the Hauraki people, of neighbouring
Waikato iwi and occasionally for those intent on war. 59
Sub-catchments
The Waihou River catchment drains, either partly or wholly, the Coromandel, Hauraki,
Matamata Piako, and South Waikato Districts.
There is no clear division between the lower Waihou and Piako rivers, which are linked via the
waterways of the Kopuatai swamp. The river can be divided into a lower section below
Te Aroha, and an upper section above Te Aroha. The river has nine major tributaries, the
Ohinemuri being by far the largest (see Map 5).
The river has been divided into sub-catchment areas to allow clearer definition of wetlands and
former water courses erased by drainage. The sub-catchments of the Waihou can be broadly
grouped under three classes: lowland/hill country, Te Aroha plain/hill country and Morrinsville
plain/hill country. Sub-catchments and their major tributaries are listed in Table 1. The basic
draining pattern today and additional watercourses that would have been present in the 1800s in
the low-lying areas along the Waihou illustrated for sub-catchment 1 and 2 in Maps 12 and 13.
Map 6 after Furey (1996) illustrates the historical extent of wetlands for the lower Matatoki
Stream. 60 Maps 7 and 8 illustrate the lack of wetlands in the Kirikiri – Puriri and Omahu
Hikutaia sub-catchments today. Considerable channelisation of tributaries and an extensive
drainage pattern is evident in these areas, created in the main since 1908 (see Map 9).
6.2.2 Environmental impacts
During the early years of European settlement the river was a road for commerce and ferry
traffic, with vessels going as far inland as the Okauia landing near Matamata.. 61 River
clearance for log rafts and shipping, including removal of river snags, was a serious concern for
Hauraki, as these were key fishing sites for eels (John Williams pers. comm. 1988).
From the late 1860s until the 1920s the Ohinemuri and the lower Waihou were a gazetted sludge
channel for the mining wastes of the Ohinemuri goldfields. 62 Kaumatua recounted the effects of
these wastes on Ohinemuri fisheries.
59 Watson, N., 1969. Pre-European Tribal Trouble. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal 6(1).
Furey, L., 1996. Oruarangi: The archaeology and material culture of a Hauraki pa. Bulletin of the
Auckland Institute and Museum 17.
60 Furey, L., 1996. Oruarangi: The archaeology and material culture of a Hauraki pa. Bulletin of the
Auckland Institute and Museum 17.
61 Watson, N., 1969. Pre-European Tribal Trouble. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal 6(1).
62 Anon, 1964. Ohinemuri River-Mining Sludge. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal 1(2).
62 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Table 1: Waihou River sub-catchments and tributaries
Kirikiri – Puriri sub-catchment [1] Waipapa Stream
Te Kupata Stream
Wairere Stream
Kirikiri Stream
Warahoe Stream
Matatoki Stream
Puriri River
Omahu – Hikutaia sub-catchment [2] Omahu Stream
Hikutaia River
Sub-catchment three Komata River
Lower Ohinemuri River
Sub-catchment four Owhakatina Stream
Rae o Te Papa Stream
Waitoki Stream
Horahika Stream
Patuwhao Stream
Mangaiti Stream
Omahu Stream
Tui Stream
Tuna kohoia Stream
Sub-catchment five Mangawhengu Stream
Haehaenga Stream
Wairongomai Stream
McNichol Stream
Waipupu Stream
Whakahoro Stream
Magill Stream
McLaren Stream
Sub-Catchment Six Waiharakeke East Stream
Foughey Stream
Gordon Stream
Stanley Stream
Martin Stream
Puketutu Stream
Sheehan Stream
Wairere Stream
Waiteariki Stream
Sub-Catchment 7a, b, c Mangangarara Stream
Mangapiko Stream
Mangawhero Stream
Waiomou Stream
Mangapouri Stream
Okoroire Stream
Mangaroa Stream
Oraka Stream
Mangawai Stream
Mangaoatua Stream
Waimakariri Stream
Purere Stream
Lake Rotohoko
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 63

Map 6: The Oruarangi settlement environment, on the Matatoki Stream near its confluence with
the Waihou River, today and in the early 1800s
64 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Map 7: Kirikiri – Puriri sub-catchment, 1993, illustrating wetland loss and stream channelisation
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 65

Map 8: Omahu – Hikutaia sub-catchment, 1993, illustrating wetland loss and stream
channelisation
66 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Map 9: Waihou River drainage pattern
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 67

Drainage has removed the majority of wetlands in the Waihou River catchment. Drains have
provided a new environment, however habitats are often poor or lack access for fish. Stock
grazing to the edge of streams has destroyed much of the riparian vegetation relied upon by
inanga and other species.
Since James Cook’s visit to the Waihou in the summer of 1769, colonial and later governments
have striven to create the Garden of Eden he had envisioned for the lowland river flats of the
Waihou. 63
L.N. McCaskill, who occupied a large land grant in the Hikutaia catchment in the 1860s, notes in
his diary that drainage was a key occupation of those early days. Thorpe provides a general
description of early drainage. 64 By 1908 the Public Works Department was involved in an
extensive drainage programme centred on the Piako River when more than 600,000 acres was
drained. 65 This was followed finally by the Waihou Valley Scheme of the 1960s. Preliminary
work for this project has shown that the historic wetland system of the Waihou catchment can
be redrawn to illustrate the different aquatic environment that existed in the late 1800s before
major drainage works had begun.
This drained land has been the basis of an extensive, and in the last 15 years intensive, dairy
farming industry. The present silt and nutrient loading in runoff from dairy farms may be having
an adverse effect on the river environment and on that of the Firth of Thames. A by-product of
the extensive subsidiary drainage system has been the development of a new aquatic habitat that
has been occupied by eels and other customary fisheries (see Map 9). The success of their
invasion of this new habitat, particularly the impact of floodgates, pumps and other devices that
obstruct access, remains to be investigated.
6.3 Manaia Harbour and catchment
The Manaia Harbour and catchment is representative for west coast harbours of the
Coromandel Peninsula. Manaia was also chosen because it was a focus of Ngati Whanaunga
settlement and has a relatively undisturbed environment.
The Manaia environment, although in some respects similar to that of the Firth of Thames,
differs markedly in the sense of scale and in the degree of man made change.
Manaia is considered by the Department of Conservation to be one of the few relatively
unmodified catchments on the Coromandel Peninsula.
6.3.1 The catchment environment
The location and extent of the Manaia Harbour and catchment is illustrated in Map 10. The
Manaia Harbour has two main catchments, that of the Manaia River and the streams entering
63 Park, G., 1995. Nga Ururoa. Ecology and history in a New Zealand Landscape. Victoria University
Press, Wellington, New Zealand.
64 Thorp, H.R., 1976. The draining of a swamp. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal, June.
Thorp, H.R., 1977. Drainage of the plains. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal, June.
Thorp, F., 1971. Rotokohu Valley – Paeroa 1876-1971. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal 8(1).
65 Strong, V.M., 1977. Hauraki Plains Drainage. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal, June.
68 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

the sea on the southern shoreline. Table 2 lists the waterways of the Manaia Harbour
catchment.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 69

Map 10: Manaia Harbour and catchment
70 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

The Manaia River catchment consists mainly of steep bush-clad lands rising to the Coromandel
Range between the peaks of Tawhitirahi and Kakatarahae. The river is approximately 8 km in
length. The main tributaries are steep, rock and shingle-based streams with abundant cover, a
longfin eel habitat. 66 The lower stretches of the river flow through farmed flats at the head of
the harbour and, along with the adjacent harbour mangroves provide a shortfin eel habitat. A
former channel of the Manaia River (Aka Aka Stream) provides an extension to the harbour’s
estuarine environment (Toko Renata, pers. comm. 1988).
The catchment lies in the high rainfall area of the Coromandel Range. 67 The size of the
catchment and the nature of the local rainfall can cause flash flooding on the Manaia River flats,
a situation mitigated by river works in the 1940s (Toko Renata, pers. comm. 1988). The stream
catchment of the southern harbour shoreline rises steeply to the ridgeline running between
Onepoto Bay and the peak, Pukewhakataratara. Streams are less than 1.5 km in length, shingly
or rocky and pass in the main through grazed pastures.
6.3.2 The harbour environment
Manaia Harbour (see Map 11) is an extensive estuarine habitat, dominated by the Manaia River
and its channels. The harbour is approximately 70% inter-tidal with extensive mangrove areas
and salt water marshes in the eastern section of the harbour and in each of the northern bays.
Table 2: Main rivers and streams, Manaia Harbour catchment
1. Waitotara Stream
2. Whakataha Creek
3. Waiana Stream
4. Marutuahu Stream
5. Parawaha Stream
6. Ohoni Stream Pukewhakatara Stream
Pukehinau Stream
7. Otamatoa Stream Awa Parore
8. Manaia River Pekapeka Stream
Ake Ake Stream
Waikoura Stream
Waharaparapa Stream
Tapa (Tupa ?) Stream
Rangatira Stream
Taurarahi Stream
Kakatarahae Stream
Paekihauraki Stream
Te Wawawahi Stream
9. Ruruwhiti Creek Putaongi Stream?
Pukewhau Stream
Tangatoe Stream
66 Burns, B., 1984. Manaia Forest Sanctuary. Auckland Conservancy Dedicated Areas Report No.5, NZ
Forest Service.
67 Maunder, W.J., 1974. Climate and climatic resources of the Waikato, Coromandel, King Country
Region. NZ Meteorological Service Miscellaneous Publication 115(7) NZ Government Printer.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 71

Map 11: Manaia Harbour approaching low tide
72 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

The harbour has extensive inter-tidal sand flats east of Hikurangi Point, which extend to the head
of the harbour along the main river channels. The outer sandflats have conspicuous shellbanks
and significant sea grass beds. West of a line between Hikurangi Point and the Waiana Stream,
and the outer islands and Solomon’s Point is the permanent water.
The main harbour features are illustrated in the aerial photograph (see Map 11).
6.3.3 Environmental impacts
The Manaia environment underwent major changes in the 1940s when the Manaia River and
associated streams were altered as part of a drainage and road works programme. Since that
time the catchment has been relatively undisturbed. The Manaia River catchment is mainly in
bush, former farmland in the process of reverting. Location changes and a decline in pipi and
cockle beds may be a sign of environmental change. Spartina has gained a small foothold in the
harbour (Jason Roxburgh, pers. comm. 1988).
7 The customary fishery
7.1 Introduction
The customary fishery of the Hauraki rohe remains a taonga, albeit greatly diminished in
comparison to historical levels. This section of the Report provides a context for discussion of
customary indicator use.
Customary fisheries of the Waihou River, the Manaia Harbour and the Firth of Thames are the
focus of this Report. The upper portion of the Ohinemuri River is excluded. Customary species,
their location and abundance, seasonal movement and the timing of harvest are addressed. The
fishery includes all species, indigenous or exotic, that are found in the region. Table 1 lists those
fish, shellfish or crustacea that were or remain important indigenous customary fisheries in each
of the areas studied.
Kaumatua interviewed for this project were familiar with the customary fisheries of the areas
studied. Their knowledge spanned the period from the 1920s to the present day, including the
time of their parents, and sometimes grandparents. They were the keepers of customary lore as
understood by their tupuna.
Fish and shellfish were abundant in their parents’ time, and in their own, through until at least the
late 1940s. Abundance meant that they were able to harvest sufficient natural foods from their
own immediate neighbourhood. One could expect to catch fish of good quality and in sufficient
quantity at any time of the year. There were infrequent trips to other areas to catch kaiawa,
kairoto or kaimoana. This did not mean that all fish species were as plentiful in the places where
they were customarily caught in the time of their tupuna.
Since the early 1900s, drainage schemes, commercial fishing, farm practices and other
environmental impacts have caused significant changes to the fishery and its habitat.
Some species, such as eels, were adaptable enough to survive and thrive in the new environment
until the advent of commercial fishing.
Hauraki have also had to adapt their fishing practices in response to the new environments
created and the different fishing or gathering locations. Fish or shellfish from the rivers and
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 73

Tikapa Moana is no longer a prominent feature of tribal hui. Sea and river foods remain a
significant item for personal sustenance, albeit reduced in abundance.
The decline of fisheries resources, together with changing lifestyles, has affected Hauraki use
and management practices as they relate to the customary fishery. Tangata whenua
involvement in the management of our environment has yet to be fully recognised.
7.2 Firth of Thames
The shallow coastal waters and unique Mediterranean type coastal environment of the Firth of
Thames supports a productive customary fishery. This southern part of Tikapa Moana continues
to play a unique role in the economy and welfare of the twelve iwi of the Hauraki rohe.
Many of the historical settlements of Hauraki were sited on the Firth of Thames shoreline. This
was a major food basket for these settlements, inland Hauraki communities and neighbouring iwi.
The Firth was a major communication route, connecting Hauraki to other coastal iwi and through
the Waihou to inland peoples.
The Firth has always been a major pathway for the seasonal movement of customary fisheries,
including flounder, snapper, pioke, tuna and the various whitebait species. European settlement,
particularly in the 130 years since 1870, has dramatically altered the environmental landscape of
the Firth of Thames. Unfettered fishing until the late 1970s, has had a major impact on the
customary fisheries of the area. 68
Table 3: Major customary species of the Waihou River, Manaia Harbour and Firth of Thames
Species Waihou River Manaia Harbour Firth of Thames
1. Tuna * + + +
2. Inanga +
3. Paraki (smelt) +
4. Lamprey +?
5. Aua (yellow eyed mullet) + + +
6. Kanae (grey mullet) + +?
7. Mohoao (black flounder) +?
8. Kaio (freshwater mussel) +
9. Kewai (freshwater crayfish) +
10. Patiki (yellow-belly flounder) + + +
11. Tamure (snapper) + +
12. Pioke +
13. Kahawai + + +
14. Pipi +? + +
68 Cunningham, B., 1977. New management measures proposed for Auckland snapper fishery. Catch
4(6) p.5.
74 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

15. Tuangi (cockle) + +
16. Peraro (trough shell) +? +
17. Tio (rock oyster) + +
* Tuna includes three species of eel.
Mussel farming is a potential threat to the sustainability of the ecosystem and the customary
fishery.
7.2.1 Fisheries species
Customary shellfisheries of the Firth of Thames include green-lipped mussel, pipi, cockle, rock
oyster and paua. Kina, the only customary echinoderm species taken, has at times been
harvested in larger quantities than other sea foods. Spiny rock lobsters and the red rock crab
complete the list.
Flounder, snapper, pioke and eels were the main fish taken for customary use in the 19 th century
and until the Second World War. Pioke is not taken often today and kahawai has become
important. Other species in Table 3 and those mentioned in the text were important at particular
times or as a delicacy rather than as a staple item of die t.
7.2.2 Habitat, seasons and use
In the 130 years since 1870 the habitat of customary fisheries in the Firth of Thames, adjacent
riverine and terrestrial ecosystems, has changed significantly. Various publications comment on
changes to the southern Firth of Thames mud flats caused by:
• massive siltation as a result of mining in the Ohinemuri catchment of the Waihou;
• deforestation of the Coromandel and Kaimai Ranges;
• the drainage schemes of the last hundred years; and
• land use, particularly intensive dairy farming.
The nature, extent and effect of these impacts has never been quantified. These environmental
issues have caused significant change to historical distribution patterns for customary fisheries.
Shellfisheries of the southern and eastern shorelines of the Firth of Thames, of Colville Bay, the
Manaia and probably Coromandel harbours are drastically reduced in comparison to former
levels. Environmental damage appears the likely cause for the demise of shoreline fisheries
south of Thames.
Evidence provided by kaumatua indicate that the 0.75 km 2 of pipi beds formerly available along
the southern and eastern shorelines of the Firth of Thames have shrunk to virtually 0 in the last
30 years. Cockle beds at Te Mata and Colville Bay and Titiko (mud snail) between the
Kauaeranga River mouth and Thames township exhibit a similar fate. Decline of some
customary shellfisheries, eg. that between Ngarimu Bay and Wilsons Bay, appears attributable
either in part or in whole to recruitment overfishing.
Customary fishery location today differs, particularly for shellfish, from historical patterns.
Changes to sediment type for the southern mudflats have changed the distribution of shellfish in
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 75

this area. It is not known whether these changes have affected the mudflats and shallow subtidal
areas as nursery habitats and feeding grounds for flounder, snapper and young sharks.
The Firth of Thames ecosystem is governed by seasonal patterns, which are influenced by
climatic variation. The timing of fish movement, spawning and other life-cycle events are
seasonal. There are several major seasonal events in the Firth of Thames.
Autumn/winter
• Mature female eels leaving the rivers in autumn, perhaps to live temporarily in the
mangroves and mudflats, and moving on to spawn in the Pacific.
• Fish such as grey mullet, yellow-eyed mullet and flounder moving out of the rivers and
estuaries to spawn in the Firth of Thames or in deeper coastal waters in late winter or
early spring.
Spring/summer
• Glass eels moving into river estuaries in the spring.
• Juvenile inanga and common smelt moving up the lower river stems.
• Juvenile kahawai, grey and yellow-eyed mullet, flounder and others moving into estuarine
and sea grass nursery areas.
• Live bearing sharks moving into the shallow southern areas of the Firth to have their
young.
• Flounder and snapper, kahawai and other pelagic species moving into and out of the Firth
in their annual feeding migration.
• Spawning and settlement of pipi and cockle, mussels, oysters and other shellfish.
The movement of many species of fish into the Firth of Thames in the spring or early summer
was so striking that to Hauraki Maori it was a major event in their seasonal calendar (T. Renata,
C. Kipa, H. Mikaere pers. comm. 1998).
Adverse effects can disrupt these seasonal events. Physical or flow-related barriers can affect
migration. Habitat changes can alter normal distribution patterns, affecting settlement or juvenile
development. Understanding seasonal patterns and requirements for customary species in a
historical and present day context is important in an appreciation of the value of customary
indicator use.
The Hauraki people gathered a great range of seafoods. Gathering of fish and shellfish prior to
the 19 th century, and until the early years of the 20 th , was governed by customary rules and
approaches (tikanga) developed through long association with these fisheries. This included the
use of tohu or indicators to reliably determine food resources and safety while gathering them.
Natural indicators were seldom used to determine harvest readiness, with the exception of kina.
In this case quality was determined by plant flowering. The indicator for bivalve shellfish was
observation of location and density. On the other hand, natural indicators, along with seasonal
and monthly calendars, played a significant part in determining presence, and the best fishing
times for finfish.
76 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

A variety of fishing methods were used historically in the customary fishery including beach
seines, set nets, lines and traps. Stone fish traps (Poraka) remain in Colville and Thornton’s
Bay. Observations passed down from tupuna, plus their own experience, were the indicators
they used to determine where fish might be when setting gear.
Use of tikanga has largely been ignored since the Second World War. Customary fishing rules
were observed until the 1930s or 1940s. Both pakeha and Maori observed similar fishing rules
and had similar tastes for fish before this time. Commercial and recreational fishers in general
are not bound by the same harvest ethic, tikanga Maori, which was once the norm for Hauraki
whanui. Recognition of the large part customary indicators have and could again play in
improving the efficiency of sustainable harvesting would improve outcomes for both the fishery
and those whose wellbeing depends on it.
Tuna (Eel)
Eels are common residents of the mangroves and mudflats in the southern end of the Firth of
Thames, although not so plentiful as in former times. It is not known whether this is a resident
population or a stage in migration. The Firth of Thames is a migration route for adult females
leaving for spawning grounds and for returning glass eels.
Little information is available concerning seasonal requirements of eels in the Firth of Thames.
The nature of the resident population in the mangroves and mudflats in the southern Firth of
Thames also requires investigation.
Effective harvesting relied on knowledge of the location and behaviour of eels on the mudflats.
Eels regularly moved from the Firth of Thames mudflats into the Kauaeranga river on the
returning tide (pers. comm. C. Kipa). Spearing at night with torches, netting and hand removal
from mud holes were the methods used.
Common smelt, inanga
The Firth of Thames plays an unknown but presumably important role in the early lives of both
the common smelt and inanga that live their adult lives in the region’s rivers. 69
Whitebait was taken as it entered the rivers from the Firth of Thames. The state of plants and
rivers were used as natural indicators.
Patiki (Yellow-belly flounder)
Yellow-belly flounder occur in different areas of the Firth of Thames, depending on the time of
year and presumably the stage of their life cycle. Juveniles may remain in southern shallows, a
nursery area, for up to two years before joining the annual spawning migration. 70
69 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.72.
70 Colman, J.A., 1972. Size at first maturity of two species of flounder in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand.
NZ Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 6(3): 240-245.
Colman, J.A., 1973. Spawning and fecundity of two flounder species in the Hauraki Gulf, New
Zealand. NZ Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 7(1&2): 21-43.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 77

The estuaries and shallow flats are thought to be a major nursery area for flounder. The nature
of the benthic community in these areas is largely unknown. The benthic community of shellfish,
worms, crabs and other crustacea in the Firth of Thames is probably an important factor in
flounder productivity. Nutrient enrichment from the Waihou and the Piako rivers may improve
benthic productivity and therefore the annual production of flounder.
Yellow-belly flounder begin their migration into the Firth of Thames in October, moving down the
eastern shoreline and arriving off the southern river mouths before Christmas. Moving up the
western side of the Firth they are no longer caught in May. This pattern appears to have been
of regular occurrence for many generations (C. Kipa, pers. comm. 1998).
Yellow-belly flounder are fished according to their seasonal movement pattern as they move
south into the lower Firth of Thames. They are on the flats between Waihou and Waitakaruru
from November to May. This is a pattern that has been passed on from tupuna and has been
used by Hauraki commercial fishers from the early 1900s.
Nets were set by commercial fishers at the time of expected arrival and pattern fished to
determine direction and speed of movement. During this part of the annual cycle flounder move
slowly, probably feeding. Once heading north along the Kaiaua coastline they move quickly out
of the area. How this knowledge was used by whanau who deployed stake nets off the Thames
shoreline and parts of the western Firth of Thames was not identified during this study.
Kahawai
Aua (Yellow-eyed mullet)
Kanae (Grey mullet)
Adult kahawai move into the Firth and the lower tidal reaches of the Waihou and the Piako river
in spring and summer (Charley Kipa, Beau Ngamane, pers. comm. 1998). Spawning takes place
in the outer gulf and juveniles remain in shallow areas such as the shallow flats and eel grass
beds in the southern Firth of Thames, where they feed on the abundant copepod fauna until
100 mm in size. 71
Yellow-eyed mullet spend considerable time in the estuarine environment of the southern Firth of
Thames and lower rivers. They move into the river estuaries on the rising tide to feed, leaving
as the tide falls (Charley Kipa, pers. comm. 1997). Spawning takes place in coastal waters in
the summer. The timing of juvenile movement into the estuaries and lower rivers is unknown. 72
Post-larval grey mullet probably utilise estuarine and sea grass areas in the lower Firth of
Thames.. 73 Juveniles enter rivers at 40-45 mm in large schools and remain there until ready to
Colman, J.A., 1974. Movements of flounders in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. NZ Journal of Marine
and Freshwater Research 8(1): 79-93.
71 Annala et al, 1998. Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 1998: stock assessments and
yield estimates. Ministry of Fisheries, May, p.202.
McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.277.
72 Annala et al, 1998: Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 1998: stock assessments and
yield estimates. Ministry of Fisheries, May, p.408.
73 Annala et al, 1998. Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 1998: stock assessments and
yield estimates. Ministry of Fisheries, May, p.145.
78 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

mature and move seawards to spawn. 74 Schools of adults are a common sight inland as far as
Turua (S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998).
Tamure (Snapper)
Adult snapper are a major component of the Firth of Thames fish community. 75 Snapper occupy
the whole of the Firth of Thames from October to May but do not appear to have a set pattern
of movement.
The main fishery occurs in the spring and summer, fish occurring quite suddenly, and moving out
during the early winter. Resident fish of several types remain in some localities (C. Kipa,
T. Renata, H. Mikaere, B. Ngamane, pers. comm. 1997, 1998).
They move onto the flats with the tide to feed during northerly weather. A range of food items
are found in the gut, particularly mussels, pipi, cockle and crabs. They are particularly evident
feeding on pipi and cockle beds in the shallow waters off the Waitakaruru to Miranda area.
Snapper caught in calm weather on the flats were often full of flounder (C. Kipa, pers. comm.
1998).
Snapper were a major customary species used fresh and preserved. Like flounder, seasons and
climate were the indicator of arrival and departure. Behaviour was well known, fishers moving
to accustomed sites to fish on particular stages of the tide for specific fish types.
Lining and netting are used today to catch snapper for customary use, and by Hauraki
commercial fishers using traditional knowledge.
Pioke (Dogfish)
Tupere (School shark)
The southern part of the Firth of Thames was well known as a shark pupping ground and
nursery, probably because of the abundant food supplies. In the spring, lemon fish or pioke
would move be the first species to move into the Firth of Thames and then followed by other
varieties of shark (including school shark and larger species) from November through to January
(C. Kipa, pers. comm. 1998).
All shark species appear to bear live young in the southern part of the Firth of Thames.
Sharks were a valuable customary fishery because of their keeping qualities when dried. Dried
shark was a staple diet when travelling prior to European colonisation. Dogfish or pioke was
commonly dried until the Second World War. Hung on fencelines or tacked to the side of
74 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.282.
75 Paul, L.J., 1976. A study on age, growth and population structure of the snapper, Chrysophrys
auratus in Hauraki Gulf. New Zealand Fisheries Research Bulletin. Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries. New Zealand.
Francis, M.P., 1993. Does water temperature determine yeaa class strength in New Zealand snapper
(Pagrus auratus, Sparidae). Fisheries Oceanography 2(2): 65-72.
Francis et al, 1995. Snapper recruitment in the Hauraki Gulf NZ. NZ Fisheries Assessment Research
Document 95/17 26 pp.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 79

uildings, they were packed in flour sacks when dry and hung in the storehouses. Dried shark or
other dried fish and shellfish were the school lunch of many young Maori through the 1930s and
1940s (C. Kipa, B. Ngamane, pers. comm. 1998).
Sharks were caught in set nets at night, either in the early morning or evening at the change of
light, a practice still used today. Early November was a bad period for netting due to the number
of sharks in the area and the damage done to nets.
Pipi
Historically pipi occurred as dense beds along much of the Firth of Thames shoreline until the
early 1960s. Extensive beds along the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula to Waihi were
also noted by kaumatua.
Dense, mid to low tidal pipi beds occurred along a 7.75 km stretch of coastline between Miranda
and Waitakaruru and 4 km between the Kauaeranga River and Tararu. These beds, a key
fishery from and before the 1920s, were approximately 0.5 km 2 in extent.
The 27 km of coast between Tararu and Wilsons Bay contains the deltas of more than twenty
streams, the site of the main pipi fishery. Pipi were so dense in seven of these locations,
covering approximately five of the 27 km of coastline, that they provided an almost continuous
carpet of pipi beneath a stony surface below the mid tide level. This part of the fishery was
approximately 0.25 km 2 in extent, supplemented by small but healthy beds at the other 13 sites.
Manaia Harbour supported extensive low water pipi beds. Whangamata, Wharekawa, Tairua
and Whitianga areas contained extensive pipi beds on the eastern Coromandel coastline. The
decline of the pipi fishery between Ngarimu Bay and Wilsons Bay appears due to recruitment
overfishing. Changes from a sandy to a muddy substrate appear the likely cause for the collapse
of pipi fisheries south of Thames.
There is little information available on environmental factors which have or are likely to impact
on this resource and its habitat.
The once known abundance of this fishery, as recognised by Hauraki whakatauaki, has now
vastly diminished. The extensive beds of the lower Firth of Thames no longer exist today.
Those between Thames and Wilsons Bay no longer support a viable fishery. Manaia Harbour is
showing signs of decline, leaving Whangamata and other eastern Coromandel beds to meet
customary needs.
In the 1930s pipi beds at Waitakaruru, Kauaeranga, Tararu and north to Wilsons Bay were
fished extensively. The local people to supply the pa at Rawhitiroa (B. Gage, pers. comm. 1998)
fished beds in the Te Mata area in the 1890s and long before that.
Customary pipi fisheries of the southern and eastern shorelines of the Firth of Thames have been
drastically reduced.
Tuangi (Cockle)
The main cockle fisheries occurred historically in sub-tidal beds at Te Mata, Manaia and
Coromandel harbours and Colville Bay. These beds were mainly of large cockles, whereas in
80 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

other areas they were smaller and mixed with pipi (B. Gage, T. Renata, B. Ngamane pers.
comm. 1998).
Cockles were found in extensive beds between the Waitakaruru River and Miranda. These
cockles were smaller and mixed with pipi and mud pipi. High density cockle beds were located
in the 1950s and 1960s by the numerous holes dug by snapper feeding while the beds were
covered (C. Kipa, pers. comm. 1998).
The main cockle beds occur on sandy mud below low water. Relatively good beds, although of
a smaller size, occurred in the inter-tidal throughout the area.
The cockle fisheries of Colville Bay, Te Mata and the inter-tidal areas along the Thames to
Wilsons Bay coastline have almost completely vanished.
Peraro (Trough shell)
The mud pipi is found commonly in the sandy muds of the southern shoreline of the Firth of
Thames between Thames and Waitakaruru. This shellfish is known as the soft mud pipi,
identifying its habitat preference.
Kutai (Green-lipped mussel)
Prior to the 1960s, green-lipped mussels occurred in extensive inter-tidal and sub-tidal beds in the
Firth of Thames and other parts of Tikapa Moana. The sub-tidal distribution of green-lipped
mussels in the Hauraki Gulf prior to 1958, before the collapse of the commercial dredge fishery
76, 77
in the late 1960s, and in 1961 is indicated in Map 4.
Mussels are said to be in good condition year round, although a natural indicator may have been
used to determine the period of highest quality prior to the main spawning.
Mussels were still plentiful in the 1930s, but by the late 1960s both inter-tidal and sub-tidal mussel
beds had been decimated by commercial harvesting.
Shore picking devastated the mussel beds on the shoreline from Waikawau to Wilsons Bay.
Gathered to supply East Coast markets in the Gisborne area, they were fished out in about two
years. Mussel farming in the 1970s made the gathering of wild mussels uneconomic, allowing
the gradual return of former beds.
Mussels are a key food item for the local Hauraki people. They are gathered from winter to
early summer when in good condition.
Mussels are today abundant inter-tidally between Colville Bay and Te Puru, increasing in density
towards Wilson’s Bay. Sub-tidal beds have also recovered since mussel farming began.
76 Reid, B., 1969. Mussel survey, Hauraki Gulf and Firth of Thames 1958. Fisheries Technical Report
No.34, New Zealand Marine Department.
77 Auckland Regional Authority, 1972. A recreation resource area Kawakawa Bay to Miranda.
Planning Division, Auckland Regional Authority, June.
Greenway, J.P.C., 1969. Surveys of mussels (Mollusca: Lamellibranchia) in the Firth of Thames 1961-
67. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 3(2).
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 81

Tupa (Scallop)
Scallops occurred mainly in deeper waters as far south as Wilsons Bay in the Firth of Thames,
and in some shallow harbours.
Scallops were gathered in some shallow harbours, caught occasionally on long lines or in nets, or
when blown ashore, along with horse mussels on the Coromandel east coast.
Tio (Rock oysters)
The native rock oyster occurs in the mid to upper tidal band along the Thames coastline,
particularly from Te Mata to Waikawau. The Pacific oyster is replacing the native rock oyster,
particularly in the southern part of the Firth of Thames. They are most abundant in the Piako,
Waihou and Waitakaruru estuaries.
Titiko (Mud snail)
Titiko occurred wherever there were mangroves and muddy sands from Colville Bay south.
Large areas of mud snail habitat were removed by reclamation near Thames and they are no
longer found near the Thames wharf and aerodrome, possibly due to environmental problems.
They are harvested all year round.
Pupu korama (Cats eye)
Pupu occur on rocky shores along the Thames – Colville coast and north of Kaiaua. Cooks
turban was found in the same areas but below the low tide mark. Pupu also occur on mangrove
roots. The area of mangroves near the aerodrome at Thames was a popular fishery that no
longer exists.
Paua , kina, rock lobster
Paua are rarely found south of Wilsons Bay in the Firth of Thames, occurring mainly around the
islands adjacent to the Coromandel–Colville coastline. Kina and rock lobster have a similar
distribution.
Of the three species kina has been the most abundant and probably has the greatest chance of
recovery in the present environment. Kina is a species that should be considered a candidate for
monitoring. It is easy to observe, quickly recolonises areas and has a quick growth rate.
These customary species either spawn (paua and kina) or release their young as developed
larval forms (koura) in the spring. They require clean rock or algal surfaces for settlement,
which may be precluded by sediment in the water.
Kina are taken in November and December when the pohutukawa flower, an indication that the
roes are of good quality. Harakeke flowering suggests that the roes are of poor quality.
Papaka (Red rock crab)
Red rock crab, an inhabitant of sub-tidal areas from where it moves up the shore on the
incoming tide, are no longer plentiful. They were found in good quantities at Waiomu in the
1930s.
82 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

This crab releases its young into the plankton in the spring and summer. It is not known when
settlement occurs or whether the young settle in their adult habitat, low tidal reefs. The reason
for its disappearance from the shoreline at Waiomu is not known.
7.3 The Waihou River
The Waihou River, in association with the Piako, was historically a key natural resource area for
Hauraki whanui. Eels, flax, birds and various berries were key resources taken from this area.
Current knowledge suggests that this area was occupied by Hauraki tupuna from about the mid-
15 th century. 78
Eels, and possibly paraki (smelt) and kanae (grey mullet), are the only resources that have been
adaptable enough to survive the massive environmental changes evident in the catchment. Eels
have invaded the new habitat provided by drainage systems and may have overcome barriers
posed by floodgates to some extent.
Environmental changes may have almost caused the extinction of the freshwater mussel. They
have drastically limited inanga, but smelt appear to remain a major fishery. Pipi, once common
at least as far inland as the Matatoki Stream, is now found only north of Tararu on the Thames
coast in any numbers.
Kaumatua interviewed were familiar with the Waihou fishery from the 1930s to the present day,
and with the fishery as it was known by their ancestors.
Their view was that the fishery was always abundant in their parents’ time, and in their own
through until at least the late 1940s. Abundance meant that they were able to harvest sufficient
eels, and other aquatic foods, from their own immediate neighbourhood. There were no treks to
other areas to catch eels. This could be done at any time of the year, when one could expect to
catch fish of good quality and in sufficient abundance.
Since the 1960s drainage schemes, commercial fishing, farm practices and other environmental
effects have caused a massive decline in the fishery.
There was no targeting of eels during the autumn migration, there was no need, they were
always abundant and in good quality.
7.3.1 Fisheries species
The customary fishery of the Waihou River remains based on the same species of fish as
existed in historical times but in greatly reduced numbers and in places where they were not
customarily taken (see Table 3).
Short- and longfinned eel, smelt and inanga (whitebait), black and yellow-belly flounder, yelloweyed
and grey mullet, kahawai, freshwater crayfish and freshwater mussel remain as indigenous
customary fish species. Trout, catfish, rudd, perch, carp and mosquito fish are the customary
exotic species. Watercress is the main aquatic plant harvested.
78 Allen et al, 1994. Taskforce Green/University of Auckland archaeological project, Waihou River
(1993). Dept of Anthropology, University of Auckland, p.9.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 83

7.3.2 Habitat, seasons and use
The distribution of customary fisheries in the Waihou catchment appears to have drastically
altered when compared to their probable location prior to European settlement and development.
Habitat has shrunk considerably with the drainage of wetlands and the channelisation of the main
river and its tributaries. Stock management has further reduced riparian vegetation, and runoff
may have changed the chemical and nutrient character of the aquatic environment. The almost
complete lack of galaxiids and the decline of freshwater mussels may be due to the above
factors. Drainage has provided an extensive habitat, provided flood gates, pumps or other
obstructions do not prevent access.
Fish and shellfish in the Waihou follow seasonal patterns that determine their movements,
reproductive cycles and growth. Seasonal movements position each species in an appropriate
part of the environment to complete the next stage of their life cycle.
The seasonal patterns exhibited are controlled by such forces as the lunar cycle. In reacting to
these forces, each fish species moves to complete it’s biological cycle within the available
environment.
The tupuna of Hauraki Maori brought knowledge of the lunar cycle and its value as a seasonal
calendar to the region. Over many generations it is probable that the timing of critical phases in
the life cycles of customary fisheries and other natural resources was equated to the phases of
the moon in the various seasons of the year.
Within the normal variation found for the life cycle events of fisheries the same pattern of events
would have been observed, using their monthly and seasonal calendar, over many generations.
Fish would have migrated at accustomed times, fish would have been harvested by Hauraki
whanui at accustomed places and of an expected quality (give or take normal habitat changes
and seasonal variations in quality).
In the 220-odd years since Cook found the Waihou, that river’s environment has been changed
beyond recognition. 79
Harvesting required an effective knowledge of the time when customary resources would be in
good condition, the likely harvesting location and the time of arrival. It was also important to
understand the behaviour of customary animal resources and the terrain in which they would be
caught to allow the right type of fishing or hunting gear to be developed and deployed.
This section provides a context for the examination of the effect of environmental change on the
ancient seasonal calendars used by Hauraki whanui for the Waihou fishery.
Information concerning location and timing and the way in which Hauraki whanui coped with
change and developed new approaches to harvesting are addressed.
79 Park, G., Nga Ururoa. Ecology and history in a New Zealand Landscape. Victoria University Press,
Wellington, New Zealand.
84 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Tuna (Eel)
Eels were a key resource historically for the various tribes and hapu that have occupied the
area. Watson (1969) records that:
“... the Thames Valley was a great place for eels and each tribe sought to retain as large a
slice of it as possible. Highly prized were the streams in which eel weirs could be
constructed. Eels were taken in sufficient numbers to provide a trading surplus keenly
sought after by less fortunate neighbours; at least one chief got into trouble for selling his
eels to the wrong people.” 80
Furey (1996) indicates the richness of the Kirikiri and Matatoki streams in the early 1800s. Eel
weirs were established in the Pipi Stream, the Tauwhare and Matatoki streams, which serviced
the inhabitants of Oruarangi pa. 81
Shortfin are more common in the lower Waihou, in quieter water including wetlands and drains.
A large population of shortfins resides in the channels and mudflats of the Lower Firth of
Thames. These eels move into the river estuaries with the incoming tide, presumably to feed
(C. Kipa, pers. comm. 1998). The New Zealand longfin tends to “occupy the faster flowing and
better oxygenated streams and rivers”. 82
The freshwater environment of the Waihou has been considerably affected by mining, drainage
programmes and perhaps more latterly by farm runoff and siltation associated with intensive
dairying. Enrichment from farm runoff, following the introduction of aerial topdressing may also
have had an effect on water quality.
Indigenous habitats favoured by eels are virtually non-existent. The extensive wetlands,
particularly of the lower Waihou, have been considerably reduced, in the case of the Kopuatai by
more than 50%. 83
Farm drainage was extensive from the 1860s, removing many small and medium-sized areas of
wetland associated with main tributaries such as the Hikutaia and smaller streams such as the
Rotokohu on the lower Ohinemuri River. 84 This was major shortfin eel habitat.
Snags or sunken trees, once numerous in the river and main tributaries, were removed in the
second half of the 19 th century to accommodate navigation on the river. As a major eel fishing
location, Hauraki Maori made many protests about their removal (John Williams, pers. comm.
1998).
80 Watson, N., 1969. Pre-European Tribal Trouble (Continued). The Ohinemuri Regional Historic
Journal 6(1).
81 Furey, L., 1996. Oruarangi: The archaeology and material culture of a Hauraki pa. Bulletin of the
Auckland Institute and Museum 17, p.9.
82 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.5.
83 Leathwick, J.R., Clarkson, B.D. and Whaley, P.T., 1995. Vegetation of the Waikato Region: Current
and Historical Perspectives. Landcare Research Contract Report LC9596/002.
84 Thorp, H.R., 1976. The draining of a swamp. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal, June.
Thorp, H.R., 1977. Drainage of the plains. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal, June.
Thorp, F., 1971. Rotokohu Valley – Paeroa 1876-1971. The Ohinemuri Regional Historic Journal 8(1).
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 85

Willow planting was a major component of early drainage and erosion control programmes in the
first half of the 20 th century. This provided a replacement habitat for eels and they became a
key source of customary eels (J. Williams, pers. comm. 1998). Willows were also a major
fishing site for commercial fishers through the 1970s and 1980s. Removal of willows, as part of
flood control works for the later Waihou drainage scheme, in turn removed this new habitat.
Following this event catches of eels from these areas dropped markedly. 85
The drainage schemes, particularly those of the 20 th century, potentially provided vast areas of
new habitat for eels, particularly shortfin.
In the event drains do carry an eel population, but access and cleaning problems may prevent
these areas reaching their potential. 86
Sludge disposal from mines in the Ohinemuri catchment between 1875 and 1920 made this
environment virtually uninhabitable for eels or any other customary fish. 87 Sludge was dispersed
into the Ohinemuri for five out of seven days in the week. Tangata whenua watched fish return
up the river after sludge disposal stopped on a Friday, and be killed or rapidly leave the river on a
Monday morning as sludge disposal resumed (D. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998).
Silt discharged from the river into the lower Firth of Thames in recent years is believed by
commercial fishers to have contributed to lower eel numbers on the mud flats. 88
Although glass eels have not been observed in the Waihou in the spring, elvers of about 7.5 cm
in length have been observed at the Parata Falls on the Piako River in large numbers in summer
(Peter Keane, pers. comm. 1998). Mature female eels migrate from the river in the autumn,
often at the time of flooding. At this time it is also common for eels to move out of the
waterways onto flooded areas in search of terrestrial food.
Migratory eels do not appear to have been targeted by Hauraki whanui. One instance of this
only was recorded during this project. Migrating eels were caught from the Owhakatina Stream
near Tirohia and placed in drums while being caught (L. Hiku, pers. comm. 1998).
Kaumatua interviewed for the Waihou River were familiar with the eel fishery from the 1930s to
the present day and with the fishery as it was known by their parents before them.
Their general view was that the fishery was always abundant in their parents’ time, and in their
own through until at least the late 1940s. Abundance meant that they were able to harvest
sufficient eels, and other aquatic foods, from their own immediate neighbourhood. There were
85 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.23.
86 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1.
87 Allen et al, 1994. Taskforce Green/University of Auckland archaeological project, Waihou River
(1993). Dept of Anthropology, University of Auckland, p.9.
88 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.23.
86 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

no treks to other areas to catch eels. This could be done at any time of the year, when one
could expect to catch fish of good quality and in sufficient abundance.
There was no targeting of eels during the autumn migration, there was no need, they were
always abundant and in good quality. This appeared to be true for the whole of the Waihou
River. Although there were no interviews of fishers from the Matamata/Patararu area of the
Waihou, we were assured that fishers living at Waharoa that fished this area held the same view
(Peter Keane, pers. comm. 1998).
Traditional harvesting predominantly involved the use of spears (matarau – blind spearing or
spearing with the use of a torch), traps (hinaki or weirs). Gaffing, tickling and feeling for eels in
holes were also employed. Weirs have probably not been used on the Waihou since the late
1800s or even earlier. These early weirs do not appear to have been the massive structures so
common on the Wanganui River. They were of two types, either woven fences with flax stalks
or light poles of lancewood or white ti tree as uprights or complex enclosures designed to retain
and sort eels (S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998).
A weir enclosure is said to have been sited on a naturally flooding bend of the Waihou
(S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998). The site is on Shaftesbury Road, Manawaru, which now
dissects the former area. The flat is bounded behind by a high bank and along the river edge by
a low bank. The upstream and downstream ends of the flat are lower, allowing water to enter
the flats during flooding. In the days when the enclosure was in use the flat was covered with
flax and kahikatea. The weir is said to have consisted of fences to keep the eels in and a system
of pens and gates to both hold and sort eels for use. Some form of race was also part of the
structure so that eels could be driven from the shallow wetland area.
Traps or hinaki were a major method of catching eels. They would be set alone in a stream or
river, in areas to catch eels leaving or returning to the river from flooded paddocks, or in a
separate weir, or among willows growing in shallow water.
If set in a stream or river, they would not be placed in a strong current but in a quite place
around a bend where the current would lead eels to the trap. They could be placed with the
mouth facing into or away from the current. They were baited with poultry or a rabbit or meat
that would be smoked to make it firm and less likely to fall out of the trap (Peter Keane, pers.
comm. 1998). They could also be set to catch eels under sunken logs or rocks, were they could
be heard but not removed easily (J. Williams, pers. comm. 1998).
When using a hinaki to catch eels moving onto or off a flooded paddock, the trap was set to
funnel eels to it and was not baited.
Eel spearing was a common method both in the tributaries of the upper Piako River and the
streams coming off the Kaimais in the Te Aroha area (P. Keane, S. McCaskill, pers. comm.
1998).
In drains with suitable cover (watercress and reeds) eels would be chased out of the cover and
into a suitable stretch of drain that was shallow, were they would be gaffed or struck with a ripi
(the hoop iron from a barrel) (P. Keane, pers. comm. 1998).
Eels were also speared or gaffed at night using torches. This occurred in streams and out on the
mudflats. In the early days these were made of finely split timber closely bound and sometimes
soaked in fat or oil. Nowadays a lantern or torch is used. In streams with heavy watercress
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 87

eds or other suitable cover blind spearing would be used. The spear is used as a probe until an
eel is speared.
Tickling or rapa tuna was also used on the Mangaiti Stream (J. Williams, pers. comm. 1998) and
in the Kauaeranga River. Once an eel had been found in a hole on the Kauaeranga a hand-held
hook was swiftly inserted and the eel quickly dragged to the bank by a companion. They were
large eels! (C. Kipa, pers. comm. 1998).
Eels on the tidal mud flats of the Waihou and Kauaeranga Rivers were caught accidentally in
slack set nets for flounder or were taken by hand in large mudholes. These eels were known to
move off the mudflats and into the Kauaeranga River estuary on the incoming tide (C. Kipa,
pers. comm. 1998).
Common smelt, inanga
Common smelt and the inanga both occur in the river, smelt being the predominant species and
the main contributor to the whitebait fishery today. 89 Changes to the river’s habitat may have
drastically reduced the inanga population of this river which in other situations is the main
contributor to the whitebait fishery.
Smelt are mainly found in the lower reaches of both the Waihou River and eastern tributary
streams north of the Hikutaia River. They have been recorded by Barrier as far south as the
Wairongomai Stream. Barrier also demonstrated the use of upriver areas, perhaps inland of
Paeroa, by juvenile smelt. 90
Inanga are found further inland and in the upper reaches of tributary streams. 91 McDowall
notes that:
“... inanga are unusual amongst galaxiids ... adults [being] found in shoals ... mostly in open
or gently flowing still water ... and is most abundant above the influence of seawater.” 92
Figure 5 indicates the location of inanga spawning areas, which lie on the edge of or just above
the saltwater wedge in the tidal reaches of the river. 93
The whitebait fishery is mainly located north of and including the lower Ohinemuri (D. Rakena,
pers. comm. 1998). Whitebait are recorded from Tirohia and as far south as Te Aroha
(S. McCaskill, V. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998).
89 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.1.
90 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.18.
91 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.5.
92 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.120.
93 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.9.
88 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Spawning sites for common smelt have not been identified in the Waihou River. Gravid females
have been taken off Turua. 94 Spawning occurred on a clean sand bank 60 miles inland on the
Waikato River. 95
Seasonal patterns have not been studied in depth for common smelt in the Waihou. If similar to
the Waikato, smelt move upstream from the estuaries and spawn in large shoals in summer but
more usually in autumn. The eggs hatch and are washed out to sea. Schools of juvenile smelt
migrate into the river estuaries during spring and summer, the other type of whitebait. 96
94 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.18.
95 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.72.
96 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.72.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 89

Figure 5: Predicted inanga spawning areas in the Waihou River
90 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Inanga probably spawn in the Waihou between February and May, using the same sites year
after year. 97 McDowall notes that inanga move downstream to spawn in the estuaries on high
spring tides about the time of the full and new moons.
The spawning takes place at full tide on rushes and other vegetation where they form a dense
band left high but not dry by the falling tide. At the following high spring tide, if conditions are
suitable the eggs hatch and the larvae are washed out to sea. Here they spend about six months
before returning to the river in the early spring as whitebait, the right time being determined by
river flooding, an indicator used by Hauraki fishers. 98
McDowall notes that:
“Over the summer following migration into freshwater the fish grow and mature. They stay
together in shoals and may be found in the pools, backwaters, lagoons etc., associated with
the rivers.” 99
No whitebait or smelt were harvested in the upper tributaries of the Piako, a situation that may
have applied to the Waihou above Waharoa (Peter Keene, pers. comm. 1998).
Whitebait would be taken in September between Paeroa and Tirohia (October at Matatoki) and
in the lower Ohinemuri, but not until November at Te Aroha. The nature of whanake (cabbage
tree) flowering indicated how good the season would be (R. Williams, pers. comm. 1998).
Opening willow buds were also an indicator at Tirohia, an adaptation to change (D. and
V. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998).
At Matatoki and Paeroa in the 1930s and 1940s the people would watch out for the arrival of
whitebait, laying peeled sticks in the water at known locations to help to see them as they came
up the river (R. Williams, D. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998).
Families living at the MOW camp on the Waihou near the Ngahutoitoi marae fished the
whitebait runs in the 1940s.
True whitebait (inanga) always travelled up the sides of the river out of the current, while
juvenile smelt were found in the middle of the river (D. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998).
At Te Aroha and at Matatoki people employed scrim nets to catch whitebait in the 1930s and
1940s.
Patiki (Yellow-belly flounder)
The yellow-belly flounder is common in the lower reaches of the Waihou River.
97 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1, p.5.
98 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, pp.120-126.
99 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, p.126.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 91

Kahawai
Kahawai are common in the tidal reaches of the Waihou River, coming as far inland as the
Ohinemuri in the spring and summer (D. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998).
Aua (Yellow-eyed mullet)
Kanae (Grey mullet)
Yellow-eyed mullet are common year round in the tidal reaches of the Waihou River, coming as
far inland as the Ohinemuri (perhaps as far as Te Aroha – S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998) in
the spring and summer (D. Rakena, pers. comm. 1998). Yellow-eyed mullet were sometimes
taken in set nets, but were not a target fishery this century.
Grey mullet are common in the lower Waihou and Ohinemuri and occur as far inland as
Te Aroha (D. Rakena, C. Kipa, S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998). McDowall states that they
live in the rivers, particularly when young, in the summer and move seawards during the late
autumn and winter to breed at about three years of age. 100 Grey mullet were a target fishery in
the lower Waihou and Ohinemuri, and were caught in set nets this century. Few were taken in
the Te Aroha area (D. Rakena, C. Kipa, S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998).
Kaio (Freshwater mussel)
Freshwater mussels were once abundant in the Waihou River. Slow-flowing reaches and pools
of tributaries were their preferred habitat. The once large beds below Te Aroha now no longer
exist, possibility due to environmental problems (J. Linstead, pers. comm. 1998). Although
common in the Te Aroha area, they were not greatly used for food (S. McCaskill, pers. comm.
1998). They were commonly harvested in the Matatoki area and were preserved in salt
(R. Williams, pers. comm. 1998).
Freshwater mussel were and still are found in the main tributaries of the upper Piako River, and
probably the upper Waihou inland of Waharoa.
Pipi
Pipi, now recorded only from the Firth of Thames, was once found as far inland as the mouth of
the Matatoki Stream.
Kewai, koura (Freshwater crayfish)
Freshwater crayfish occur away from the main river in the upper reaches of tributaries near
bush edges (P. Keane, pers. comm. 1998). Koura were commonly taken in streams coming off
the Kaimai Range north and south of Te Aroha through the 1930s and 1940s and to a limited
extent today (R. Williams, S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998). Nothing is known of the seasonal
requirements of freshwater crayfish in the Waihou River.
Freshwater crayfish were harvested in all the tributaries of the Waihou. They were caught
using bundled mangemange or bracken which was staked into the bottom and left overnight.
100 McDowall, R.M., 1990. New Zealand freshwater fisheries: A natural history and guide. Heineman
Reid, MAF Publishing Group, pp.281-282.
92 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

The bundle was sometimes baited with slugs or snails or other material (Beau Ngamane, pers.
comm. 1998).
7.4 Manaia Harbour
The Manaia Harbour customary fishery differs markedly both as a fishery and in its environment
from the other areas studied in this project. Sea fisheries were the main food source, along with
produce from their gardens. Eels and whitebait were not a major food item, as was the case for
the Waihou River.
Manaia Harbour became the main focus of Ngati Whanaunga settlement in the Hauraki rohe
some generations after the hapu was established about Whakatiwai on the western shoreline of
Tikapa Moana. 101 Manaia has long been the main settlement, with temporary fishing and
harvesting camps at other sites around the harbour, at Te Kouma, the southern shoreline of
Coromandel Harbour and on Rangipukea Island in particular.
The many pa and kainga sites around the harbour, once occupied by Ngati Huarere, suggest that
the natural resources of the area formerly supported a large population.
The shellfisheries of both Manaia and Te Kouma harbours were also utilised by other Hauraki
whanui historically.
Snapper and flounder were the main fish caught but parore, kahawai, pioke and mullet also
formed a significant part of the catch. There was no significant seasonal pattern for each
species, they all appeared in the harbour in late October, remaining for the summer months.
Pioke and snapper were occasionally taken offshore around the islands or up to three miles out
into the Gulf. Hapuka was fished for rarely.
Pipi and cockle, a declining resource today, were key shellfish historically, along with mussels,
rock oysters, titiko, pupu marama and kina. Paua were occasionally taken.
The Manaia environment underwent major changes in the 1940s when the Manaia River and
associated streams were altered as part of a drainage and road works programme. Since that
time the catchment has been relatively undisturbed. The harbour catchment is mainly in bush,
much of it protected. Location changes and a decline in pipi and cockle beds, may be a sign of
environmental impact. Spartina has gained a small foothold in the harbour.
Manaia is considered by the Department of Conservation to be one of the few relatively
unmodified catchments on the Coromandel Peninsula.
7.4.1 Fisheries species
Flounder and snapper, together with pipi and cockle are the main fishery species in the Manaia
customary fishery. Table 3 lists another 10 species which were or still are taken regularly,
particularly by certain families.
101 Turoa, T., 1997. Nga Iwi o Hauraki. The Hauraki Treaty Claims Vol.2. Hauraki Maori Trust Board,
Paeroa.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 93

7.4.2 Habitat, seasons and use
Manaia Harbour is an extensive estuarine habitat, dominated by the Manaia River and its
channels. The harbour is 60–70% inter-tidal with extensive mangrove areas and saltwater
marshes in the eastern section of the harbour and in each of the northern bays.
The harbour has extensive inter-tidal sand flats east of Hikurangi Point, which extend to the head
of the harbour along the main river channels. The outer sandflats have conspicuous shellbanks
and significant sea grass beds.
West of a line between Hikurangi Point and the Waiana Stream, and the outer islands and
Solomon’s Point is the permanent water.
The main harbour features are illustrated in the aerial photograph (Map 12), the topographic and
catchment map (Map 10).
Tuna (Eel)
Common smelt
Inanga
Eels are common in the Manaia River, the harbour mangroves and formerly in the small streams
along the southern shoreline of the harbour. Although there are galaxiids (inanga) in the Manaia
River there are no smelt and there is no whitebait fishery.
Kanae (Grey mullet)
Schools of kanae occur in the river channel, but more frequently in the outer part of the harbour.
There is no knowledge of the location of juveniles.
Patiki (Yellow-belly flounder)
Kahawai
Kata, Aua (Yellow-eyed mullet)
Parore (Blackfish)
Tamure (Snapper)
All of the above fish, with the exception of parore, have small resident adult populations in the
harbour in the late autumn and winter months, with large increases in numbers in the spring and
summer. Fish move into the harbour channels and out onto the harbour flats to feed with the
rising tide. Juvenile fish are probably abundant among the mangroves and on the tidal flats and
among seagrass in the Taungatara area.
Parore frequent the weedy channels of the harbour, probably only leaving briefly in winter to
spawn. Snapper probably had much larger resident populations prior to the introduction of
Danish seining in the 1930s and intensive trawling in the late 1960s in the Hauraki Gulf.
Netting and lining are the main fishing methods for these species, fishing them on the rising and
falling tides at known fishing grounds around the harbour in the summer months.
94 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Pioke (Dogfish)
Tupere (School shark)
Pioke are only present in the Firth of Thames and Manaia Harbour in any numbers in the spring
when they move into shallow waters to bear their live young. Although caught in set nets inside
the harbour the main fishery for Manaia people was about 5 km offshore.
School shark were occasionally taken in the outer harbour, the main fishery being in the Firth
proper.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 95

Map 12: Kirikiri – Puriri sub-catchment, Waihou River – modern and historical drainage system,
place names
96 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Map 13: Omahu – Hikutaia sub-catchment, Waihou River – modern and historical drainage
system, place names
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 97

Pipi
Tuangi (Cockle)
Manaia remains the key pipi fishery on the west Coromandel coastline. Increasing fishing
pressure will put this fishery at risk, requiring careful monitoring of indicators.
Manaia was formerly ranked as a major cockle fishery. The extensive sub-tidal to mid-tidal
beds have gone, probably due to environmental changes. These areas, formerly always with a
thin covering of water, have become dry in recent years.
Titiko (Mud snail)
Pupu korama (Cats eye)
Titiko are a common feature of the mangroves and muddier flats of the inner harbour. Pupu
korama, while found occasionally in the mangroves as they are in the southern Firth of Thames,
usually occur in the outer harbour area on low tidal reefs and rocky shores.
Tio (Rock oysters)
New Zealand rock oysters are a feature of the upper inter-tidal in the outer harbour area.
Pacific oysters are not yet common.
Kutai (Green-lipped mussel)
Paua
Kina
Rock lobster
Green-lipped mussel occur in the outer harbour area along with occasional paua and limited beds
of kina. The main mussel beds are found around the islands in the harbour entrance, south to
Waikawau and north to Colville Bay. Paua, kina and rock lobster occur most commonly on subtidal
reefs north of Manaia.
98 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Part 2: Hauraki customary fisheries indicators
8 Customary themes
Themes have provided a context upon which customary indicators can be derived. They relate
to:
• definitions;
• resource abundance;
• habitat extent;
• fisheries use;
• tikanga Maori;
• seasonal calendars; and
• observation and inherited knowledge.
8.1 Definition of customary indicators
There are five types of customary indicators that have been identified in this project. They are:
a. celestial phenomena: the lunar cycle, the seasonal position of the sun, the presence of
stars;
b. seasons;
c. weather;
d. stages in the life cycle of plants or animals; and
e. observed changes in fish behaviour or shellfish location.
Customary indicators do not appear to be defined by a single generic term in the Hauraki rohe.
Beau Ngamane and Charley Kipa used the term ‘tohu’ in relation to physical indicators such as
weather or currents.
8.1.1 Celestial phenomena
Hauraki tupuna used stars as a guide to seasons and fishing success. Toko Renata noted in
evidence at the Port of Auckland dredge dumping hearings that:
“We are told by the old people that there are many signs in the stars for the important task
of collecting seafood. For example if Pleiades is shining brightly, we are told it is a bad time
for flounder and eel fishing.” 102
The moon was a key indicator for when planting, gathering and fishing should occur. The moon
and sun calendars are discussed later in Section 8.4.
102 Toko Renata in Evidence ... Port of Auckland dredge dumping hearings.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 99

8.1.2 Seasons and plant indicators
Seasons were not a sign in themselves. Rather it was the natural events that signalled changes
in the climate or seasons. These were the indicators.
Seasonal changes in plants signalled harvesting times for some fisheries. Signs indicated the
arrival of fish, or the quality of fish shellfish and kina. In some cases, where the vegetation was
no longer indigenous, signs or indicators were attributed to introduced plants (see Section 8.4.2).
8.1.3 Weather
Before or during fishing changes in the weather were monitored and various signs indicated that
certain actions should be taken. Signs of wind change were particularly important for the Firth
of Thames and outer Hauraki Gulf. This indicated changes in fish behaviour and warning of
approaching bad weather. Fishers could then respond accordingly.
8.1.4 Observation of change
Indicator systems such as the moon calendar provided a monthly framework for expected
events: the arrival of whitebait and the times to fish.
Normal variation was part of tribal knowledge and safeguarded by those tangata whenua
responsible for food gathering, planting and harvesting. Abnormal changes to seasonal patterns
or location, once observed, became part of the local lore.
Customary indicator practices did not necessarily become redundant in changed or newly
created environments such as in drained swamps and drainage systems. In fact, observation
then became important to determine the behaviour of, for example, eels in the new environment.
8.2 Fisheries abundance and use
Kaumatua interviews clearly identified that at the time of European settlement fisheries were
abundant and available year round in the three areas studied. This abundance continued until at
least the 1940s for key fisheries. It appeared that fishery resources were so abundant that there
was little need to travel outside the immediate settlement locality. There is evidence of annual
visits to more distant localities to collect fish and other resources prior to European settlement.
European settlement brought major changes to the customary environment and this had a
considerable impact on the customary knowledge of fisheries and the use of indicators to predict
availability and health of the resources.
Change was progressive and selective and affected different parts of the environment and
fisheries. Some customary fisheries such as inanga declined, others such as tuna may well have
thrived. Fisheries use changed from a local tribal subsistence economy to a regional economy
from about the 1860s. Subsistence use by a large sector of the population remained an important
part of the Hauraki lifestyle at least until the Second World War.
8.2.1 Impact of settlement on abundance
European settlement has had an obvious, but largely unquantified, effect on the Hauraki
environment and on the role of fisheries resources within the tribal social order. Drainage, bush
100 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

clearance, mining, farming and commercial fishing have all affected the location and abundance
of fisheries.
Evidence is available, from both customary and conventional sources, that supports the
abundance of specific fisheries in the decades of the 1930s and 1940s and their rate of decline
thereafter. Commercial fishing caused a progressive decline in the sub-tidal mussel fishery from
the late 1950s and from the shoreline in the 1960s (B. Gage, pers. comm. 1998). 103 Extensive
pipi and cockle beds in the lower Firth of Thames appear to have declined and vanished by the
1940s (B. Gage, C. Kipa, pers. comm. 1998).
Eel fisheries appear to have declined significantly in the late 1960s following the introduction of
commercial fishing, and again in the 1980s after willow trees were removed from the rivers
(J. Williams, S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998). Eels may have remained a significant, although
reduced, fishery based on their ability to adapt to a changing environment and to occupy new
habitat.
Removal of vegetation along riparian margins through stock grazing would have had a severe,
and again an unquantified, effect on inanga. Juvenile inanga now comprise a small percentage
of the whitebait catch in the Waihou River. 104
The effect of commercial fishing on the abundance of snapper since the 1930s has not been
studied in any depth. By the early 1980s the effects of trawling and Danish seining were serious
enough to introduce licensing and a localised quota, the forerunner of the Quota Management
System. 105
Flounder appear to have always been abundant.
8.2.2 Impact of settlement on use
Fisheries use changed progressively with the impact of European settlement in Hauraki.
Customary knowledge, including the use of indicators, underwent considerable change as the
Hauraki people adjusted to a change in lifestyle. Despite these changes customary fisheries
remains a central element in the Hauraki nation.
Between the 17 th and early 19 th centuries gathering was mainly local, with some hapu groups
moving considerable distances to fish seasonally. Shark fishing took place inside the northern
103 Greenway, J.P.C., 1969. Surveys of mussels (Mollusca: Lamellibranchia) in the Firth of Thames 1961-
67. NZ Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 3(2).
104 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1.
105 Paul, L.J., 1983. Coastal demersal fisheries. In: New Zealand finfish fisheries. The resources and their
management. Proceedings of a conference organised by Fis heries Research Division, Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries, and held in conjunction with Fishex ’83 in Auckland, April 1983.
Boyd, R.O., 1983. Resource Management in the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In: New Zealand
finfish fisheries. The resources and their management. Proceedings of a conference organised by
Fisheries Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and held in conjunction with Fishex
’83 in Auckland, April 1983.
Duncan, A., 1981?. The Hauraki Gulf Controlled Fishery. A preliminary economic analysis. New
Zealand Fishing Industry Board Report.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 101

Islands of the Hauraki Gulf in the spring. Ngati Haua occupied seasonal fishing camps at Kopu
on the Waihou River. Ngati Maru went to Te Kouma and Manaia Harbours to dry pipi. These
were local subsistence economies.
In the l850s and 1860s fishing was more extensive. The considerable trade of fish and shellfish
to Auckland to feed the growing populations supports this view. Although the economy had a
more regional focus, subsistence fishing probably remained a dominant feature.
In the 1890s and early 1900s it is probable that many of the local commercial fishers were
Hauraki people. They fished throughout the Gulf or along the eastern Coromandel coast on a
day basis or up to five days away. Between 1920 and 1940 subsistence fishing remained an
important part of family life.
Fish and shellfish were gathered in sufficient quantities to meet daily family needs. Occasionally
larger amounts would be taken to dry, salt or preserve in fat for winter use. Abundance and a
mild climate meant that fresh product was readily available.
Whitebait fishing occurred at seasonal sites along the Waihou in the spring. Hauraki people
living at Parawai or at the Kauaeranga River mouth in the same period fished both the lower
Kauaeranga and the lower Firth of Thames. The extensive mud flats yielded a variety of
shellfish, flounder and eels.
People living in the Manaia settlement in the late 1800s and early 1900s occupied summer camps
around the harbour, at Te Kouma, Coromandel or Rangipukea Island to gather various natural
resources. This practice was discontinued after the Second World War when gathering of
seafoods then took place on a daily basis.
Manaia and Te Kouma harbour beds provided shellfish. Line and net fishing took place inside
the harbour, and on grounds around the harbour entrance. Offshore occasional visits were taken
to Hapuka grounds.
8.2.3 Impact of settlement on the customary fisheries habitat
Productive fisheries locations were well known and protected as important tribal assets.
Changes that affected these fisheries and lowered productivity, affecting the availability of food,
were closely observed. In the period following settlement tangata whenua have been unable to
address these sustainability issues as their kaitiaki role remains unrecognised by the decision
makers of the Crown.
Events that have affected Hauraki fisheries habitat, either their extent or productivity, include:
• wetland loss;
• changes in water quality and/or quantity; and
• effect of nutrients and siltation on aquatic ecosystems.
Wetland loss has created a major environmental problem for customary fisheries in the Waihou
River catchment. These include: loss of critical habitat at all stages of the life cycle and
102 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

decreased biodiversity affecting food range. 106 Wetland access is a major concern. Drainage
schemes in the Waihou catchment have created many barriers to fish passage, prohibiting
effective access to old and new habitats.
Changes in flow rates and water quantity are important factors for migrating adults and returning
juveniles. The loss of the buffering ability of wetlands has affected the sustainability of
customary fisheries in freshwater ecosystems. Previously large freshwater mussel beds in the
Waihou River at Te Aroha may have been destroyed by nutrients and sediment in farm runoff
(J. Linstead, pers. comm. 1997).
Silt discharges from the Waihou River may have changed the nature of the shoreline and seabed
habitat of the southern part of the Firth of Thames. This would affect settlement of shoreline
shellfish and the ability of seabed communities to provide food for juvenile and adult flounder and
other fishes.
8.3 Tikanga Maori
Tikanga Maori provides a framework of rules that govern harvesting, the care and respect for
customary resources and their environment.
Toko Renata recounted the following rules used in sea fishing, at the Ports of Auckland hearing
into dredge dumping:
• First you should always pray before you go fishing so as to ensure that your mind is at
peace.
• Women may not step over the lines or bait.
• Fish must not be gutted or scaled at sea.
• Food must not be eaten at sea or on fishing rocks.
• Pipi beds must be exploited by hand digging only. Forks or shovels are not allowed. The
old people say that digging with pakeha iron will trouble the mauri (life force) of the pipi
and they will be lost.
• You must not swear or shout when you are on the sea or by the sea.
• You must not point to the sea or to fish with your finger;
• You must not turn your back on the sea. 107
Customary fisheries indicators are concerned with the care and management of the resources.
They indicate levels of sustainability and health, a first step in determining management rules.
Releasing the first catch of a new hinaki, Sonny McCaskill recalled, acknowledged Tangaroa.
Stringent rules governed the cleaning and drying of hinaki and other fishing gear.
106 Barrier, R.F.G., 1994. Biological Resources of the Waihou River. Environment Waikato Technical
Report 1994/1.
107 Toko Renata in Evidence ... Port of Auckland dredge dumping hearings.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 103

Respect for the sea and its fisheries, based on kinship, has shaped Hauraki attitudes to
harvesting. Abundance and year round availability of fish and shellfish did not, nor does it today,
infer a lack of incentive to conserve fisheries resources. Those who understand tikanga are
careful about harvesting, only taking sufficient to meet legitimate needs.
8.4 Seasonal calendars
The Maori year, divided into seasons and months, provided an annual framework for indicator
use. The Maori year conveys the idea of a recurring cycle rather than a definite measurement
of time. 108
The beginning of the year was not fixed, and was marked either by the heliacal rising of Puanga
(Rigel in Orion) or the first appearance of Matariki in the early morning (the Pleiades). This
marked the beginning of the first month of the new year, which began in autumn or early
winter. 109 The year was divided into months and seasons, the months according to Thomson,
being marked by particular indicators.
“... the unrecorded year is divided into 13 moons, and each moon is distinguished by the
rising of stars, the flowering of plants, and the arrival of two migratory birds. June is the
first month of the year, and it is recognised by the appearance of the Puanga star in the
morning. July is marked by the stars Kopu [Venus] and Tautoru [the Belt of Orion] and the
flowering of the karaka tree. August is distinguished by the stars Mangere and
Whakaahu; September by the rising of the Oetahi star and the flowering of the kowhai,
ranqiora, and kotukutuku trees. It is in this month that kumara are planted. October, or
the fifth month, is known by the flowering of certain plants; during this month the ground is
got ready for potatoes. November is characterised by the flowering of the rata and
rewarewa trees. December is known by the rising of the Rehua star, the ripening of the
karaka berries, and in the south part of the Island by the arrival of two cuckoos. January is
distinguished by the Rehua star, the appearance of the Uruao star, and the departure of the
cuckoos. In February the Rehua star still shines and the Matiti star appears; it is the dry
month of the year. March is known by the ripening of the kumara, and in April they are dug
up. May, or the twelfth month, often passes unnoticed. The thirteenth month is
distinguished by the Puanga star, the harbinger of the new year.” 110
The month is the basic unit in the Maori year. The days in the month relate to the phases of the
moon during a 30-day period. The value of each day, in terms of the likelihood of success in
fishing or gardening, is forecast by a mechanism known as the Maori calendar.
The main seasons were winter and summer, although four seasons were recognised:
Winter Takurua
Spring Koanga
Summer Raumati
Autumn Ngahuru
108 Best, E., 1986. The Maori Division of Time. Dominion Museum Monograph No.4.
109 Best, E., 1986. The Maori Division of Time. Dominion Museum Monograph No.4.
110 Best, E., 1986. The Maori Division of Time. Dominion Museum Monograph No.4, p.29.
104 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

8.4.1 Maori calendar
The Maori calendar, a moon calendar, was used historically throughout Aotearoa. Recreational
fishers popularly use these calendars today. Hauraki Maori had their own variant of the
calendar to guide hunting, gathering and gardening practices.
The Maori calendar is based on a year that begins with the first new moon after the appearance
of the stars Matariki (Pleiades) in late June or early May. Cale ndars used by the Tuhoe and
Ngati Kahungunu people, illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, indicate their nature and use.
Figure 6: A Tuhoe fishing calendar (after Best 1977) 111
The following is a list of the names of the “nights of the moon”, as the Maori puts it (for he speaks of
“nights” where we use the term “days”), together with their value as fishing-nights. This applies to
kokopu fishing only, for Tuhoe never had access to the sea:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Whiro
Tirea
Hoata
Oue
Okoro
Tamatea-tutahi
Tamatea-anana
Tamatea-aio
Tamatea-kaiariki
Ari-matanui
Huna
Mawharu
Maure
Ohua
Atua
Hotu
Turu
Rakau-nui
Rakau-matohi
Takirau
Oika
Korekore
Good fishing nights.
Poor nights for fishing. Kokopu do not sleep soundly.
Very poor fishing nights. On the Ari night the light of the
torches will alarm the fish, which are restless, and so they
dart away. (Ko aho te rama, ka rere te ika, ka torohihi
haere.) On the Huna night the fish are concealed (huna).
Fishing impossible; moonlight too strong; fish cannot be
approached.
23. Korekore-piri-ki-te-Tangaroa Fishing may be successful after midnight.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Tangaroa-amua
Tangaroa-a’ to
Tangaroa-kiokio
Otane
Orongonui
Maori
Mutuwhenua
Favourable for fishing.
111 Best, E., 1977. Fishing methods and devices of the Maori. E.C. Keating, Government Printer,
Wellington, New Zealand, p.218.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 105

Figure 7: A Ngati Kahungunu calendar (after Best 1986), illustrating fishing and other values for
each day of the month 112
1. Whiro An unpleasant day. The new moon appears.
2. Tirea The moon is seen very small.
3. Hoata A pleasing day. The moon still small.
4. Ouenuku Get to work! A good night for eel fishing.
5. Okoro A pleasing day in the afternoon. Good for eel fishing at night.
6. Tamata-ngana Unpleasant weather. The sea is rough.
7. Tamatea-kai-ariki The weather improves.
8. Huna Bad weather. Food products suffer.
9. Ari-roa Favourable day for eel spearing.
10. Maure A fine desirable day.
11. Mawharu Crayfish are taken on this day.
12. Ohua A good day for working.
13. Hotu An unpleasant day; the sea is rough.
14. Atua An abominable day.
15. Turu Collect food products from the sea.
16. Rakau-nui The moon is filled out. Sea products are the food.
17. Rakau-matohi A fine day. The moon now wanes.
18. Takirau Fine weather during the morning.
19. Oike The afternoon is favourable.
20. Korekore-te-whiwhia A bad day.
21. Korekore-te-rawea A bad day.
22. Korekore-hahani A fairly good day.
23. Tangaroa-amua A good day for fishing.
24. Tangaroa-aroto A good day for fishing.
25. Tangaroa-kiokio An excellent day for fishing. A misty aspect prevails on land.
26. Otane A good day. Eel-fishing night.
27. Orongonui A desirable day. The inanga now migrate if the proper moon has
arrived.
28. Mauri The morning is fine. The moon is now darkened.
29. Omutu A bad day.
30. Mutuwhenua An exceedingly bad day. The moon has expired.
112 Best, E., 1986. The Maori Division of Time. Dominion Museum Monograph No.4, pp.34-35.
106 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

The Hauraki calendar was known to all the people interviewed in this project. Their general
recollection of the extent of its use in recent times was:
• their father or grandfather used the calendar as the main indicator or organiser of daily
lives;
• they or their immediate ancestor no longer consciously used the calendar before carrying
out an activity; and
• that in some cases a written record of the calendar was checked after the event.
Many of the kaumatua interviewed still use the calendar intuitively, based on the knowledge that
has been passed down from their tupuna.
Beau Ngamane of Thames illustrated the use of a calendar in the Hauraki rohe for us. His
father Ngakoma Ngamane, who lived between 1895 and 1961, is one of the few of his
generation that recorded customary knowledge.
For about 10 years of his life, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was a commercial line
fisherman, fishing with a partner for groper and other fish off Great Barrier Island and the
eastern coast of the Coromandel.
All his fishing was in accordance with a Maori calendar taught to him by his father. He was
instructed by his father in the meaning of the calendar and in the significance of each day for line
fishing in the Gulf and eastern Coromandel areas.
Beau has been a fisherman all his life, gathering fish and shellfish for family use. Hand lining off
the Colville coast, and later in many parts of the Gulf and the eastern coast of Coromandel, has
been his main fishing focus. This information is now being passed on to his family.
This knowledge, which spans three generations, could provide a database for use by Hauraki to
illustrate the value of the Hauraki Maori Calendar as an indicator and as a benchmark against
which the health of present-day customary fisheries can be measured.
8.4.2 Other indicator processes
Stars played an important part in indicating seasonal patterns, and as has already been noted
marked the start of the Maori year. They indicated for Maori whether there would be a plentiful
or lean year, periods of migration, tidal patterns such as periods of high tides, and seasons.
The position of the sun in relation to Mount Te Aroha was used as an indicator to predict the
timing of seasons by the local tangata whenua in conjunction with the Maori calendar
(S. McCaskill, pers. comm. 1998). The operation of this system requires further investigation.
The flowering period or condition of plants was used to indicate seasonal timing more accurately.
The flowering of kowhai and pohutukawa signalled the time for harvesting kina. Kina were
bitter in flavour when the harakeke flowered. The nature of whanake (cabbage tree) flowering
indicated whether the season would be good or bad on the Waihou River.
Whitebait were always expected in spring about the first of October. Dick Rakena, and his
father before him, would push peeled willow twigs into the river bank to provide a light
background against which whitebait could be seen on arrival. Green leaf buds on the willows
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 107

signalled the imminent arrival of whitebait. This is an example of how traditional knowledge has
evolved and extended to introduced plants as part of an indicator system.
8.5 Observation and inherited knowledge
Shellfish gathering, fishing and the collection of other natural resources has historically been the
responsibility of Hauraki kaitiaki. Kaitiaki are taught the traditions, peculiarities and tikanga of
the resources and areas they are responsible for. Kaumatua, in each of the areas studied during
this project, have extensive qualitative knowledge of the fishery. This includes availability and
abundance and changes to the fishery habitat.
Eel and whitebait fishers on the Waihou and Piako can provide information on catch and use,
size trends, and location changes in the freshwater environment. Shellfish gatherers on the Firth
of Thames shoreline and in Manaia Harbour can provide information on bed locations, density
and habitat changes and use trends. Those catching fish in Tikapa Moana have some very
accurate information about fish abundance and availability and factors that affect that fishery.
Modern scientific studies in the region cannot match the degree of accuracy that the personal
observation and tupuna based knowledge of kaitiaki can bring to decision making.
9 Customary indicators
Hauraki kaitiaki have a responsibility for: the environmental health of Tikapa Moana, the
sustainability of resources found there, and the wellbeing of their communities. This
responsibility extends to the development of new management systems, consistent with new
technologies that better meet changing requirements for the wellbeing of the Hauraki
community.
Measurement of change in natural resources and the environment, including the rate of change,
to determine sustainability is part of this responsibility.
The monitoring of carefully sited customary indicators will more accurately assess resource and
habitat change in the ecosystems of Tikapa Moana.
9.1 The Hauraki indicator concept
The Hauraki indicator concept provides a philosophical basis for measurement of the state,
pressure and status of the Mauri of Hauraki resources and environments. The concept is
holistic, requiring a core set of indicators, tohu, that will measure the effect of human activities
and natural events on environmental and resource health within the Hauraki tribal territory.
Indicator measurement by Hauraki kaitiaki is an integral part of the concept. This acknowledges
the rangatiratanga responsibilities of Hauraki, provided for in the Resource Management Act
1991, the Fisheries Act 1996 and Conservation Act 1987.
Stretching from the mountains to the sea, the Hauraki part of a terrestrial system means more to
tangata whenua than the land and waters and myriad plants and animals that live here. It
contains the footprint of their identity and the wairua of their being.
The Hauraki Indicator concept will only be useful if the extent of sites and the nature of the
information collected allows for the holistic determination of sustainability state, direction and
108 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

cause of change. A customary indicator process that is practicable, reflects tangata whenua
attitudes to environmental care and is based on observation is needed.
Measurement of sustainability requires environmental benchmarks to determine: where the
Hauraki environment sits on a continuum. Indicators, if correctly located, will allow
measurement of both process and productivity change. This concept provides a practical
framework for a customary ‘state pressure response model’. Aligned with a conventional
model, they could together measure the ability of the mauri to sustain both the wider environment
and particular resources. The Maori working group at the second EPI workshop in April 1998
proposed a model of this type.
9.2 Defining sustainability
The Resource Management Act 1991 requires integrated, sustainable management of natural
and physical resources. Section 6 of the Act defines sustainable management as protection of
the productive capacity of the environment and resources to provide for community wellbeing.
Park (1998) examines productive capacity in relation to the ecological integrity of the ecosystem
and its environment. 113
The Act does not provide a measurable definition of sustainability or of productive capacity.
Hauraki tangata whenua define sustainable management as protection of the mauri, the life force
of the environment and its resources, to ensure the wellbeing of the people. The environment of
the tribal region is an indivisible whole, of which Hauraki whanui are an integral part. This
concept is central to an integrated and holistic view of the environment, its components,
supporting beliefs and mechanisms.
The Board, in this report, explores the development of qualitative descriptions of the Hauraki
customary environment and resources at 1840 and for the present day. These provide a
benchmark for determining whether productive capacity is at or below sustainable levels.
Similarly they would provide a context for the location of indicators.
Benchmarks could be developed from customary information and the Crown data base.
Customary benchmarks would focus on the nature and extent of key environmental components
that determined productive capacity. A proposed objective of Phase II of the Customary
Environmental Performance Indicator programme is to develop benchmarks.
9.2.1 Data sources
The customary database
Customary information on the environments of the three areas studied and the descriptions of
fisheries resources for the Firth of Thames, the lower Waihou River, and the Manaia Harbour
comes from two sources, recorded information and interviews of kaumatua.
This material is based largely on information supplied by Hauraki kaumatua, who hold a more
complete description of fisheries resources and environmental change for the areas studied than
113 Park, G., 1998. Ecological integrity. A key theme for state of the environment reporting in New
Zealand. Draft Report to the Ministry for the Environment, March.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 109

is available from Crown sources. Kaumatua have been identified who can extend this database
for the area studied, and for other locations within the Hauraki tribal territory.
The Crown database
Information on the wider Hauraki environment and natural resources is held by local body and
central government institutions. These databases provide varied levels of information on physical
processes and natural resources for terrestrial and aquatic systems. Some of these databases
provide a qualitative holistic interpretation.
Vegetation type and distribution, land use and farm impact studies, including measurements of
runoff is available for the Hauraki Region. Vegetation studies provide maps of nature and extent
at 1840 and 1995. 114 Geological, soil type and land use maps were developed in the 1980s.
Impact studies, mainly conducted for consent applications at specific sites, provide limited
environmental information.
Limited hydrological and water quality information is available for the Waihou River and for the
wider Hauraki Gulf.
Fisheries, benthic invertebrate and phytoplankton information is available for the Waihou River
and the Hauraki Gulf (see sections 3.0, 6.0). The Ministry of Fisheries has extensive catch
record information (held by NIWA) for the Hauraki Gulf, dating back to the early 1900s.
Very little information is available for the Manaia Harbour. The Department of Conservation
has descriptive material covering terrestrial and aquatic resources in the Manaia River
catchment. 115
9.3 Hauraki indicators
This section defines customary indicators and their use by Hauraki tangata whenua. Type,
location and use parameters and a process for their modern day use are discussed here.
9.3.1 Validity of indicator information
Western science seeks indicators of environmental health that can be measured quantitatively
and validated statistically.
Hauraki tangata whenua sought historically to use indicators that were sufficiently reliable to
predict the availability of important wild food resources, the timing of planting cycles, the
measurement of time. They had to be valid, repeatable and responsive to environmental change.
The economy and social order of the tangata whenua relied upon it.
The link between natural events and resource availability, recorded by repeated observation over
many generations, provides one test for the validity of information from customary indicators.
Links between events and precise temporal measurements in the form of recorded lunar and
114 Leathwick et al., 1995. Vegetation of the Waikato Region: Current and Historical Perspectives.
Landcare Research Contract Report: LC9596/022.
115 Burns, B., 1984. Manaia Forest Sanctuary. Auckland Conservancy Dedicated Areas Report No.5, NZ
Forest Service.
110 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

seasonal cycles provided validation. Knowledge of seasonal variation, recorded through
deviation in indicator behaviour, provided a further validating mechanism.
Some indicators were not associated with lunar and seasonal cycles but rather monitored
abundance or behaviour change such as the shift in location of shellfish beds or the density or
behaviour of fish in relation to fishing sites. The value of indicators lay in an ability to repeatedly
use these indicators to ensure an efficient harvest.
A question that remains to some extent unanswered is what effect did significant environmental
degradation or other adverse impacts have on the validity of indicators. Despite destruction of
known fishing grounds, the seasons of the Maori year continued, and the days of the lunar month
still passed. The natural events or tohu used to indicate the arrival of fish at fishing locations
may also have been destroyed or no longer have applied as the habitat was no longer suitable.
However as astute observers, Hauraki kaitiaki observed how fish and shellfish responded to their
new environments, sought new indicators and adjusted their fishing practices accordingly.
Where fisheries such as inanga whitebait declined due to loss of habitat they may have switched
to what may have been the less preferred common smelt whitebait. The arrival of whitebait
along the river edges was still observed by their passage over light-coloured peeled willow sticks.
The appearance of green buds on the willows illustrated a change in indicator coupled with a
traditional arrival date of 1 October.
9.3.2 Indicator type, use and location
Deciding the criteria that will determine the type, location and use of indicators is the first
requirement for establishing an effective indicator network, customary or conventional.
Indicators must be sited so that they will effectively measure both the rate and extent of change,
or harvest readiness, for the environment chosen and resources in it. The number of indicators
or indicator locations may be greater initially to establish a baseline or to identify the actual
system component that should be monitored.
An important question is whether we monitor the process or the result, or both.
Indicator type
Three types of customary indicators are discussed here:
• Seasonal or monthly calendars that provided an overall context in which to plan for
planting, harvests and wild gathering;
• Natural events that indicated timing for the arrival of fish or locations for the setting of
fishing gear;
• The state of resources or the habitat that indicated changes in location or density for
shellfish.
Each customary indicator type is based on observation and about information gathered over
many generations. Customary indicators were signposts for a particular point in the life cycle of
a fish or plant or indicated availability or quality.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 111

Customary indicators may not be universal, recognising the notion that plant or animal cycles are
governed by the particular environments they are found in. Timing for the arrival of whitebait at
Paeroa and Te Aroha had different indicators, recognising later arrival times further inland.
Significant environmental change in modern times have resulted in unique indicators. This is
illustrated by the flexibility of customary approaches such as the use of green shoots on an
introduced plant, the willow, to herald the arrival of whitebait.
Table 4 lists some of the customary indicators identified in this project. They illustrate a range of
indicator types, including those still relevant from pre-European experience, and others more
suited to contemporary times.
Table 4: Customary Indicators for Tikapa Moana, Manaia Harbour and the Waihou River
catchment
Indicator Area
1. Marine finfish abundance Firth of Thames
2. Marine finfish presence Manaia Harbour
3. Marine finfish migration Firth of Thames
4. Wetlands extent Waihou River catchment
5. Extent of riparian habitat (whitebait) Lower Waihou River
6. Plant indicator/whitebait arrival Waihou River
7. Plant indicator – kina quality Firth of Thames
8. Absence of shellfish – pipi, cockle Waitakaruru – Tararu shoreline
9. Absence of shellfish – pupu Thames mangroves
10. Changes in bed location, and substrate (pipi and cockle) Manaia Harbour
11. Changes in abundance – picking test (pipi and cockle) Manaia Harbour
12. Absence of noticeable eel migrations from tributaries Waihou River
Indicator use
There appears to be three types of indicator use:
• Timing for fishing, gathering or planting, using natural events or calendars;
• Detection of resource change in location or density;
• Detection of weather or water changes in relation to fish behaviour or safety.
For sedentary freshwater and inter-tidal marine resources such as kaio, pipi and cockle,
observation was used to indicate changes in habitat, location and density to improve the
efficiency of collection.
For kina and perhaps the green-lipped mussel, the flowering of certain plants signalled the
beginning and end of each harvest, based on product quality. Mussels were usually of relatively
good quality all year round.
112 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Observation at particular times and places, or of certain plants, was and may still be, the basis
for monitoring the arrival of whitebait. Seasonal timetables, refined by observation, are the main
indicators for the arrival of flounder, snapper and shark. Holes dug on the pipi beds when fish
moved onto them on the rising tide to feed was one of the indicators used. Particular days in the
month, determined by the Maori calendar, indicated the likelihood of success for eels, some
freshwater fish such as kokopu and inanga, and sea fisheries.
Eel fishers relied on a knowledge of fish behaviour to set hinaki correctly. Eel migration from
river tributaries during the annual tunaheke may have been monitored based on season and time
of the month. This practice seems to have fallen into neglect, perhaps because eels were so
plentiful that it was not necessary to harvest and store the quality eels that were available during
the migration. Conventional or western indicators could be used to provide answers to some of
these customary issues.
Plotting the location of old and new beds of cockles or pipi and the sediment profile may indicate
the nature and extent of their present day and historical distribution. Settlement success and the
impact of siltation from rivers could be gauged.
Changes in the biological diversity of the invertebrate communities of cockle and pipi beds may
also provide an indication of their productivity as does measurement of meat quality.
Plotting the penetration of salt water into the Waihou may provide an indication of where inanga
could be expected to spawn, given the availability of riparian vegetation.
Indicator location
Historically customary indicators provided strategic information about resource availability or the
timing of activities. They did not provide information about significant adverse effects on the
environment as these are a modern phenomena.
Although resource availability and timing of activities remains important today, sustainability of
the customary fishery and its environment in the face of significant adverse effects are an
equally important use of customary indicators.
Using customary indicators to measure sustainability of resources requires a holistic reference
framework. Measurements from a single customary indicator may indicate a level of
sustainability, but without information from the wider environment it is not possible to determine
the degree of sustainability or the direction of change.
The sustainability of customary resources and their environment today requires different
information than that used by those of generations now gone. Information about the state of the
resource, pressures or adverse effects on it and the value of the management tools designed to
maintain or restore sustainability are required. Some of the environmental components that
require monitoring have been listed in Table 5.
Gathering such information requires a customary indicator network that is extensive enough to
measure change holistically for key environmental and natural resource parameters.
Benchmarks are proposed, which will provide a description of the historical and present day
environments studied in this project. They will assist in the interpretation of change and the
effects of adverse impacts on today’s environment.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 113

The spatial distribution of customary and conventional indicators and the selection of actual
indicators are a task for stage 2 of the Customary Indicator programme. The following section
provides some preliminary comment.
9.4 Hauraki Environmental Performance Indicators in practice
Table 5: Hauraki ecosystems, communities, customary resources and adverse impacts identified
in this project
Ecosystem Biological community Customary resource Adverse impacts
1. Waihou
River
2. Manaia
Harbour
3. Firth of
Thames
a. Riparian and wetland
vegetation, algal mats
b. Benthic and
macrophyte
invertebrate
communities
c. Particulates and
phytoplankton
a. Benthic and
macrophyte
invertebrate
communities
b. Sea grass beds
c. Macrophyte beds
a. Inter-tidal benthic
community
b. Immediate sub-tidal
benthic community
114 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report
a. Eels
b. Inanga
c. Common smelt
d. Patiki
e. Kaio
a. Cockles
b. Pipi
c. Titiko
d. Oysters
e. Snapper
f. Flounder
g. Kahawai
h. Parore
i. Stingray
j. Grey mullet
a. Cockles
b. Pipi
c. Peraro
d. Rock oysters
e. Green-lipped
mussels
a. Cockles
b. Pipi
c. Peraro
d. Green-lipped
mussels
e. Juvenile flounder,
snapper and sharks
f. Adult flounder
g. Eels
a. Barriers to immigration
b. Nutrients and
sediments in runoff
c. Grazing of riparian
vegetation
a. Overfishing of cockle
and pipi
b. Changes to sediment
of cockle and pipi beds
c. Commercial fishing
affecting normal
distribution of snapper
a. River-borne siltation
a. River-borne siltation,
nutrients and residues

c. Coastal seabed
community
d. Phytoplankton
community
a. Green-lipped
mussels
b. Juvenile flounder,
snapper and sharks
c. Adult flounder
snapper and sharks
d. Eels
e. Mullets
f. Parore
g. Stingray
a. Kahawai
b. Kingfish
a. River-borne siltation,
nutrients and residues
b. Commercial and
recreational fishing
c. Marine farming
a. Marine farming
b. Pelagic fishing
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 115

Sustaining Tikapa Moana’s environment and resources for the wellbeing of Hauraki whanui is a
priority issue for the Hauraki Maori Trust Board.
The Board supports development of a practical Environmental Performance Indicator
programme that effectively utilises customary information alongside conventional wisdom. The
programme must have sufficient coverage to maintain and improve Tikapa Moana environments
for the benefit of the Hauraki people.
The programme must target priority environments and resources holistically, using customary
and conventional indicators.
Developing a Hauraki indicator monitoring capacity is an objective of the Hauraki Maori Trust
Boards Strategic Plan for Natural Resources.
9.4.1 Indicator sites
The Waihou River, the Manaia Harbour and the Firth of Thames are key components of the
Hauraki environment and Tikapa Moana as the central feature in the tribal domain. Each of
these areas has important habitats that support key customary resources, both now and for the
future.
Customary and conventional indicators must be located so they will provide information that
allows holistic forecasting of environmental health, resource availability and productivity.
Indicators must provide the information needed to address the following issues:
• runoff contamination;
• water quality and hydrology;
• habitat quality and characteristics;
• stock assessment, seasonality and productivity;
• phytoplankton availability;
• marine farming impacts;
• commercial, recreational and customary fishing impacts.
Sediment origin and effects is a key issue requiring study, as it affects the viability and
productivity of so many customary resources and their habitat.
9.4.2 Practical indicator measurement
Practical indicator measurement relies firstly on determining what is to be measured and the
combination of customary and conventional indicators that will be used. The second step is to
determine the density and spread of indicator locations needed to effectively measure process
and productivity issues in each environmental component of Tikapa Moana and its contributing
systems. The third step involves determination of the customary indicator measurement
mechanism and the analytical process to be used to achieve holistic use of the information
collected. The last step is determination of a low cost, locally run monitoring capacity to
maintain data gathering and analysis.
116 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Part 3: Te Wero – the challenge
Stage II and III customary indicator programme
10 Introduction
Contract Objective 3 sought an approach that would:
• identify how best to proceed in developing Hauraki environmental monitoring capacity;
• identify linkages between iwi/hapu monitoring functions and those of statutory agencies
for State of the Environment monitoring and reporting;
• determine and trial a set of environmental performance indicators based on customary
knowledge of indicators of environmental health for the marine environment, and key
freshwater catchments;
• identify potential environmental performance indicators for national State of the
Environment monitoring and reporting.
The requirement is to outline possible/suggested stage II and III project work.
The Environmental Performance Indicator programme is seen as an appropriate catalyst.
11 Environmental Performance Indicator selection
11.1 Indicators in a Hauraki environmental context
Indigenous people throughout the world regard the natural environment as a holistic entity, as do
the people of Hauraki. This philosophical view ensures an understanding of, and a management
reaction to, cause and effect on a rohe-wide basis. Management responses are governed by a
holistic view of the environment, and if the issue crosses territorial boundaries, then direction is
through the collective wisdom of Hauraki.
Hauraki kaitiaki have an obligation to ensure the protection and restoration of the mauri of their
environment and the wellbeing of the people who are reliant upon its resources (kaitiakitanga).
Customary indicators are a part a mechanism used by kaitiaki to indicate the state of their
environment and the availability of resources.
There is the potential to utilise customary indicators in parallel with conventional data to
determine the ecological integrity and state of sustainability of the Hauraki environment. 116
116 Park, G., 1998. Ecological Integrity. A key theme for environmental reporting in New Zealand. Draft
Report for the Ministry for the Environment, March.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 117

11.2 Indicator definition, use and selection
Hauraki Maori have traditionally used customary indicators (tohu) to assess the sustainability of
resources and their environment. Indicator use by kaitiaki today is personal, or used to provide
information to back customary gathering for hui and tangi. Recognition of kaitiakitanga is only
recent, a statutory provision that remains to be given practical effect. 117
Assessment of the adverse impacts of land use by government agencies using physical
environmental measurements is as recent as the introduction of the Resource Management Act
1991. Consents are the present focus of this approach, rather than the establishment of holistic
trends within ecosystems. The NIWA national rivers programme does seek to establish trends,
using a group of monitored parameters and benchmarks.
The EPI programme needs to establish a set of indicators, customary and conventional, that
provide for and recognise the different Maori and Crown requirements. Indicators must provide
reliable information about an environment that is already degraded and facing more intensive
use. Indicators will be of little value unless a benchmark is provided to measure the information
against.
Customary indicators
Kaitiaki for generations have interpreted local tohu to determine the state of their environment
and appropriate times for harvesting and planting and other tribal activities. The social order of
the people of Hauraki depended upon it.
European settlement caused massive change in the Hauraki environment. Much of the forest
cover was removed and replaced by pasture, removing birds and forest products. Wetlands
vanished, rivers changed and sandy tidal flats became mud flats causing major change in the
location and abundance of fisheries.
Hauraki kaitiaki observed the effect of transplanting a European terrestrial ecology, lifestyle and
production systems into the Hauraki landscape.
Fish, unlike birds, still came and went as recorded by traditional indicators (calendars), much as
they were accustomed to historically: they came to fewer places and in smaller numbers. Some,
like tuna, thrived in the new environment and became a target for new commercial fisheries.
Today Hauraki kaitiaki are observing the effect of new developments on their lands and
waterways. Poor land management practices threaten the sustainability of fisheries in Hauraki
rivers and along the southern shorelines of the Firth of Thames. Urban mobility and population
growth present new challenges for the protection of soft shore shellfisheries. Marine farming
poses a threat to seabed communities and the established fisheries of the Firth of Thames.
The degraded Hauraki environment of today cannot sustain the modern social order of the
Hauraki people.
Customary indicators would be used to monitor the state of sustainability of the Hauraki
environment.
117 Clause 7(a) RMA 1991, clause 12(b)(i) Fisheries Act 1996.
118 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report

Preliminary investigation has identified customary indicators for fisheries in a major lowland river
system (the Waihou), a harbour (Manaia), inter-tidal areas and coastal waters of the Firth of
Thames (the southern extension of Tikapa Moana).
Stage II of the indicator project needs to identify customary indicators for those ecotypes that
have not yet been studied.
This information should be used in parallel with conventional data to determine the ecological
integrity of the Hauraki environment. 118
Conventional indicators
Environment Waikato is investigating environmental indicators for monitoring trends in the
environment. 119
Monitoring sites in existence are used to collect information on a range of aquatic parameters
including temperature, BOD and sediment loading. The nature and extent of the present
monitoring sites is insufficient to provide the level of information required for holistic, integrated
management.
12 A Hauraki indicator monitoring capacity
More intensive use of the Hauraki environment demands a more proactive approach to sustain
the environment and its resources. Data needs to be more sensitive to the needs of holistic
management to counter the more far-reaching effects of modern environmental impacts.
Protection of the mauri of Hauraki ecosystems, or a sustainable environment, is consistent with
the purpose of the RMA. This is a core function of Environment Waikato and Environment
Auckland, the two regional councils with responsibility for environmental management within the
Hauraki rohe. The RMA also requires consistent management where, as is the case with
Tikapa Moana, ecosystems cross-council boundaries.
Sustainability requires holistic management, through integration of the inputs of all responsible
agencies including iwi organisations. Iwi are the only community-based group that have both a
recognised statutory responsibility and the local knowledge to provide the level of information
required.
The Hauraki Maori Trust Board wishes to develop a capacity to monitor environmental health
and resource sustainability as a mechanism to meet council obligations.
118 Park, G., 1998. Ecological Integrity. A key theme for environmental reporting in New Zealand. Draft
Report for the Ministry for the Environment, March.
Environmental performance indicators: Confirmed indicators for air, fresh water and land. Ministry
for the Environment. October 1998.
119 Environment Waikato 1998: Annual Plan 1998–1999, p.30.
Williams, M.B., 1997. Environmental Data Report 1997. Environment Waikato Technical Report
1998/05.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 119

Monitoring, in partnership with other responsible management agencies, would provide indicator
based information for joint decision making, a recognition of the kaitiakitanga responsibilities of
the Hauraki people.
13 Monitoring capacity timeframe
Development of a Hauraki resource monitoring capability should occur over the next five years.
This timeframe is compatible with the EPI programme, Hauraki strategic plan development and
resolution of key environmental concerns.
Table 6 and the following notes outline key tasks that must be addressed in Stages II and III of
the customary indicator project.
Table 6: Stage II and III customary indicator programme tasks
1. Define customary indicators for remaining fisheries ecosystems. Stage II
2. Define a set of customary indicators for freshwater, harbour and coastal
fisheries.
120 Hauraki Customary Indicators Report
Stage II
3. Define a set of complimentary conventional indicators. Stage II
4. Determine a trial project for testing of indicator set and a process for
implementation.
Stage II
5. Implement trial project and review results. Stage III
1. Defining customary indicators for remaining ecosystems
The present project has indicated the need to identify customary indicators for key ecosystem
types not presently covered.
2/3. Defining a set of customary and conventional indicators
A set of customary indicators for the indicator trial need to be determined for key ecosystems.
Conventional indicators, that could be tested in parallel with customary indicators, must also be
determined.
4. Trial project – development of a process
Process development is a key to the success of the implementation of a trial project for indicator
use in environmental monitoring.
This part of Stage II involves development of relationships with key agencies. Those responsible
for resource management within the rohe and those able to provide training and support in the
development of a Hauraki monitoring capacity.
The Waikato and Auckland Regional Councils, the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of
Fisheries and the Department of Conservation are the principal resource management agencies
involved.

5. Trial project implementation
The trial project or projects would constitute Stage III and would need to run for at least two
years as a joint project between the Hauraki Trust Board and the principal agencies.
Hauraki Customary Indicators Report 121

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