Count your mussels, no excuses
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Looking after Ōhiwa Harbour’s precious shellfish is at the heart of kaitiaki around the harbour. This summer volunteers of the Upokorehe iwi Environmental Project and local Fisheries officers had a strong presence on the eastern side making sure people understood, and stuck to the rules: 50 mussels per person and 150 pipi per person – per day. The volunteer activity on the eastern side perfectly complemented the rāhui on mussel or kuku take still in place on the western side, along the Ōhope boatramp.
Te Upokorehe kaitiaki were out and about monitoring the eastern side of Ōhiwa Harbour from early December to March. On some days they were joined by local Fisheries Officer Hilton Slement. Jointly they reminded people to be mindful of shellfish take, stick to the limits, or to get a permit if the pipi or shellfish were for an event.
It is not an easy task to put yourself out there. Most days everyone was following the rules, happy to meet the kaitiaki and have a friendly chat. Yet on the odd day the mostly wahine (women) kaitiaki, caring for the taonga that is Ōhiwa Harbour, were confronted with unfortunate disrespect. On the Upokorehe iwi Environmental Project Facebook page one can read their response: ‘We are not out there to stop anyone from getting a kai, only to ensure everyone is aware of kaimoana take. All we ask for is a little respect.’
The volunteers also continuously asked boaties to play it safe on the water and wear life jackets, look out for other harbour users, swimmers, fishermen and in particular children. And to stick to the 5 knots speed limit for boats and jet skis. The local Maritime NZ came out in December, educating whānau (families) on boat and water safety.
Never mind the wind and choppy water Christmas Day saw at least 16 boats, two kayaks and one jet ski headed out from the Ōhiwa Loop Road boat ramp. It gets pretty busy on the harbour right through the summer. By the end of January apparently some boaties commented that pipi were scattered and hard to find. No mussels were sighted by most gatherers. All the more important to have the volunteer kaitiaki from the Upokorehe iwi Environmental Project to safeguard what is left.
