Members of the collaborative ‘Ngā Kāhui Kaitiaki Mō Kaimoana’ seafood safety project are united by ‘shared experiences and challenges among mana moana and coastal-dwelling people’, according to one of the rōpū representatives from Te Tauihu o te Waka-ā-Māui.

Kiara Duke-Love of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-ā-Māui Trust says the group, which aims to empower kaitiaki with the tools and knowledge to ensure kaimoana in their rohe is safe to eat, met kanohi-ki-kanohi (face-to-face) in Maketū this month for the first time since the Vision Mātauranga funded project began earlier this year.

“We were so grateful to join Te Arawa ki Tai and the ahikaa in Maketū for this wānanga because it is clear they nurture their kete mātauranga across generations, with a deep, reciprocal relationship to their ūkaipō—the environment that sustains them.”

Cawthron project leader Dr Tim Harwood says the project brings iwi and hapū representatives from around Aotearoa New Zealand together with seafood safety researchers from Cawthron Institute to tackle shared challenges.

“We began building relationships with our partners in this project over three years ago after hearing repeatedly that the safety of kaimoana was a very important issue for them with respect to both kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga, because hau kāinga (locals) regularly gather food for their whānau and community, and for manuhiri (guests) when they are hosting groups on marae for important gatherings.”

Duke-Love says Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui are concerned about the increasing frequency and duration of harmful algae blooms in Te Tauihu, and they are not alone.

“Public health warnings against collecting shellfish due to high biotoxin levels were in place for 153 days last year in Te Tauihu which not only negatively impacts the reproductive health of our taonga kaimoana, but also makes them unsafe to eat.”

“It was important for us to hear stories from others in our rōpū about how this issue is affecting them and how they’re dealing with it.”

One example Duke-Love found impactful was the story of a person from Te Arawa ki Tai who had suffered severe and lasting health effects due to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).

“His story really hit home for me. As a diver for my iwi, the thought of causing potentially fatal harm to whānau through gathering kaimoana is deeply concerning. His experience really impressed on me the urgent need for a PSP wānanga in Te Tauihu, as there is concern that our whānau may not fully understand the risks or have access to the public health warnings, especially when using private boat ramps.”

Duke-Love said the rōpū are working to understand how cumulative impacts like warming sea temperatures and nutrient pollution are driving harmful algae blooms and PSP causing toxins to accumulate in kaimoana.

“During wānanga, we brainstormed a kaimoana monitoring framework to regularly assess these impacts, incorporating both mātauranga and western-science approaches. We looked to incorporate maramataka, taonga tuku iho, pakiwaitara, and the presence or absence of ika and manu as important tohu (indicators). I look forward to further developing this framework at our next wānanga.”

Raewyn Bennett, of Te Arawa ki Tai Trust said they have been working to restore the health of the Little Waihi estuary and its surrounding ecosystems for a long time because kaimoana sourced from the estuary had been the source of two PSP hospitalisations in the past.

“It is our responsibility, as kaitiaki living at the coast, (where all the waterways meet) to uphold our Te Arawa traditions and values pertaining to the coast,” Bennett said.

“This includes, at the least, ensuring that there is plentiful, healthy kai moana for our whanau to gather. It makes us feel good to see whanau coming to the coast and collecting kaimoana. That is our reward, to be able to manaaki and know we have been effective kaitiaki.”

“Trust is a very important thing for us, and that’s why we’ve put time into building relationships through this rōpū which enables us to gain and share knowledge.

“Coming together in wānanga to work on the issues with Cawthron and with other iwi and hapū is quite empowering.”

This Vision Mātauranga project, led by Cawthron Institute, has been funded for two years (2024-2026) – Read more here.