Ninety Mile Beach: Protection set to increase
Monday, 16 December 2019
Ninety Mile Beach will be patrolled this summer by special rangers after iwi strengthened their resolve to protect the famed stretch of coast.
A formal management plan is currently being finalised for the Northland beach.
Fishers are also being reminded of a rāhui (customary fishing ban) south of the beach, with Te Rarawa reinstating two pou to mark its boundaries.
The pou at Otia, accessed by four-wheel drive from Shipwreck Bay at the base of Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach, were chainsawed down by unknown vandals in July.
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Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi said the act was sacrilege in an area considered tapu (sacred or restricted).
'I can only feel sorry for the people who did it because it's the law of the universe – for every action there is a reaction,' he said.
The rāhui, backed only by the mana of Te Rarawa, had been going strong for 10 years to help protect seafood stocks, including 20,000 juvenile pāua planted in 2011.
The vandalism – likely in reaction to the iwi's dune fencing in the area – was a chance to develop resilience and reaffirm protocols, Piripi said.
Visitors to Ahipara, Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē and several other popular Far North beaches would be reminded of their responsibilities this summer by kaitiaki rangers.
The 17 rangers and eight youth volunteers would remind visitors and campers to observe speed limits, not to ride bikes or quads on sand dunes, as well as the importance of using proper toilet facilities, disposing of rubbish appropriately and being aware of fire risks.
The programme ran on the Karikari Peninsula last summer thanks to the input of hapū, Far North District Council, the Department of Conservation and Northland Regional Council.
This year, funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment allowed the patrols to expand to Taipa, Kaimaumau, and Ahipara to Hukatere on Ninety Mile Beach.
Piripi said the kaitiaki rangers would educate people about the coastal marine environment, such as stopping people doing 'donuts' on the sand, which could kill thousands of shellfish.
He hoped some of the young rangers from the iwi would be inspired to make a career out of conservation and environmental science.
Meanwhile, a formal management plan for Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach was a step closer, thanks to consultation running since July.
Piripi said the hui and community meetings were well attended by all parts of the community.
Māori considered the beach to be spiritually significant, as the path travelled by the spirit of the deceased as they returned to their ancient homeland, he said.
Many other New Zealanders considered the beach important but it had never had a formal management plan, with the free-for-all resulting in an exploitation of resources, Piripi said.
He gave the example of toheroa, which were commercially harvested and shipped worldwide in the 1960s. Stocks had never recovered.
Piripi said iwi and local government working together to manage the beach was a dream he thought would never come true.
'We have watched ineptitude, incompetence and sometimes outright racism rule our space – we are really trying to bring back our particular paradigm of custodianship.'
The eight-member iwi and local government Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē Board was established through Treaty of Waitangi settlement legislation.
Feedback from the consultation found people wanted six key things for the beach:
Safety for people
Acknowledgment of tangata whenua
Protection of the natural environment
A cleaner beach
Respectful visitors
Improved facilities for beachgoers.