Eruption rāhui takes a toll on Whakatāne businesses
Wednesday, 18 December 2019
A cultural restriction placed on the ocean surrounding Whakaari/White Island is taking a toll on businesses.
Diveworks Charters has shut up shop and cancelled all its bookings due to the rāhui that restricts access to the Eastern Bay coastline.
The fishing, diving and tour company is one of many businesses impacted by events since the eruption of Whakaari/White Island last Monday. Businesses have also welcomed news of the Government's $5 million package to assist them and flood-stricken Westland but say they will await details on how this can be accessed.
Iwi have asked that the rāhui, which has been extended until December 23, be honoured while the search continues for two people who died in the eruption and whose bodies are believed to have been washed into the ocean.
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Diveworks Charters owner operator Phil van Dusschoten said they had initially expected the rāhui to be lifted by Friday, but the Department of Conservation had indicated to him that it could last a month or longer if the bodies were not recovered.
Diveworks Charters also has Department of Conservation concessions to take tours to Whale (Moutohora) Island.
He said there was a sombre mood in town, and they decided to shut shop.
'We were fully booked, Van Dusschoten said. 'Most people are understanding; we have just rung them to say we can't operate at the moment, so we have shut our shop,' he said.
Van Dusschoten said they had five casual staff and they had not been able to work either.
The phone was still ringing, although less than usual, and people were asking about booking tours for January, he said.
'We are still taking bookings, just by phone, not in our office and not as many.'
Diveworks Charters was probably the second most directly affected operator after White Island Tours 'because of our DoC concession and we piggy-back on White Island [Tours] a lot'.
Van Dusschoten said visitors going with White Island Tours often also did trips with Diveworks.
'If families are coming here for two days, they would do White Island one day and come out with us the next. And, of course, we worked with [White Island Tours] skippers who would call in where the dolphins were, it was a great help.'
He said the package offered by the Government would be helpful, particularly for their casual staff who were not being paid while the business was shut.
'The important thing for any business is to keep accurate accounts of bookings and cancellations. Unless we keep a record of that we won't know how much we have lost.'
Van Dusschoten said that all the fishing charters that generally operated around White island would be the worst affected, especially as there was a five nautical-mile exclusion zone around the island since the eruption.
Whakatohea Mussels would also be impacted as they were unable to harvest mussels, he said.
'The mussels are growing that fast that the floats are getting heavy and sinking. I was working out there a week and half before the eruption and their boats were flat out working.'
Ezyfishing Charters owner/operator Lindsay Hunt said they had cancelled eight fishing trips since the eruption.
Hunt said there was concern among fishing charter operators about the lack of communication about the rāhui and now about the Government's package.
'Us charter operators are getting very poor, if any, information from any government agencies or any council agency on this. I am only aware of the rāhui through my cousin in Galatea giving me the information through Opotiki notice board (Facebook page) and this is the ongoing issue at this point.
'There was a meeting for the charter operators and my understanding is the operators got called within 20 minutes of the meeting happening. I didn't even find out about the meeting happening until I rang up another charter operator to ask if they knew anything about the rāhui.'
The rāhui and events at White Island are also impacting other businesses.
'It has an impact on everyone to some extent because even the petrol station is not selling ice to the boaties who go out early in the morning,' Iceman co-owner Johnathon Mills said.
'And I guess the tourists and holidaymakers, everyone has been in a sombre mood, which is understandable.
'We have definitely been affected and are down in turnover to where we would normally be at this time of the year.
'White Island Tours are out for the summer, I can't imagine much happening there. I don't know what investigations have to be done before their boats can move and that impacts us too because we have a lot to do with the tourists.
'We supply ice for their trips and cafe and hotel but the tourists come in and buy the sea sick pills and drinks and things because we are on the wharf.
'But we take the good with the bad, it is more than just us around Whakatāne who has been affected, there are families having to cope with the loss of the ones that they love, and that is more drastic than what I am going through.'
Regarding the Government's package, he said they would wait to see how to go about applying for assistance.
'More information will come out on that as time rolls by and we will just wait and see.'
Sports organisations have also been impacted with Salt Spray Surf School telling surfers that the mana of the rāhui needs to be respected by all and that surf lessons had been cancelled.
'To surf during this time is to ignore the significance of the Māori culture in our area and in our country. Please take this seriously and show it the respect it deserves.'