Point of Order: Don’t dip into Te Arawa Lakes Trust waters without brushing up on the regulations

Don’t go fishing in Lake Rotorua without checking your obligations under the Te Arawa Lakes (Fisheries) Regulations 2006.

The Crown introduced those regulations, as part of the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act 2006, to empower the Trustees of the Te Arawa Lakes Trust to manage the customary and recreational food gathering of included species in the Te Arawa Lakes.

Getting offside with the trust by breaching the regulations could be costly.

Penalties

A person who commits an offence described in regulation 29(a) to (f) is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

Mind you, without a grasp of te reo you might find that establishing what you can and can’t do is hard yacker.

For example:

Offences

Every person commits an offence who—

Taking or possessing included species invalidly

(a) takes or possesses an included species from within the Te Arawa fisheries area—

(i) without a valid puka whakamana; or

(ii) in a manner that is inconsistent with a valid puka whakamana; or

(iii) in contravention of any bylaws made under these regulations, unless in accordance with a valid puka whakamana:

According to Point of Order’s somewhat cursory reading, it’s the taking of certain “species” that is bound to cause the trust to get tetchy.

There are several mentions of fishing in the regulations.

There are no mentions of “science” or “research”.

Fair to say, there is one mention of “scientific study”, but nothing (according to our reading) that requires trust permission .

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to reason that if science and research are not mentioned, you can engage in scientific research without trust approval.

We learn this from the New Zealand Herald, which reports that Te Arawa Lakes Trust is unhappy with a scientist from Waikato University who tested water from Lake Rotorua and told media it contained a significant amount of plastic.

At first blush, the trust’s grievance is with the findings – the discovery of a significant amount of plastic.

This impression is amplified by the headline: Iwi rejects scientist’s claims about plastic pollution in Lake Rotorua.

But no. The trust is tetchy because it demands to be consulted when we go dipping test tubes into the lakes in its bailiwick.

Haimona Te Nahu, manager of Te Papa Ahurewa at Te Arawa Lakes Trust, emphasises the significance of effective communication and collaboration with the trust over research in Te Arawa Lakes.

He highlights the importance of establishing liaison with the trust due to the regulations for researching and managing all 14 lakes under the responsibility of the Te Arawa Lakes Trust.

Curiously, Te Nahu seems further aggrieved that the scientist who found the plastic did not mention all the other pollutants in the lake:

“If you come and have a look at Lake Rotorua, you will see that it appears to be clean and although this person said that plastic is the problem in Lake Rotorua, it is also waste from people that is a huge part of the problem.”

Te Nahu stated the obvious, as if we were not already aware of it: plastic pollution is a global issue, representing one of the most significant forms of pollution.

He says it is primarily caused by the lack of awareness and education among individuals and the key to addressing this problem lies in comprehending the detrimental effects it has on nature and taking decisive action to reduce plastic usage entirely.

“We have numerous rivers that flow into this lake, which could potentially be the source of plastic pollution. However, it would have been preferable if he had consulted with us and respected our rules and regulations of testing that we have established, especially since we are still unaware of the details and extent of his research.

“This person didn’t speak with us about researching and testing the lakes, he has taken to the media about his findings and yet we haven’t even seen any of the information or data that he found.

“This is a huge problem for us. People like this, who think they can just dive into our waters without permission or without consulting us in any way is unacceptable.

Hmm.

But the only mentions of consulting in the regulations require the Minister to consult with the Trustees before (for example) cancelling an appointment and the trustees to consult with members of Te Arawa on nominations to establish a “komiti whakahaere”.

But hey.

There’s lots of stuff that the Treaty of Waitangi doesn’t mention, either.

So let’s revise the advice we gave at the start of this article.

Don’t go anywhere near the lakes without the trust’s permission. Otherwise you risk finishing up being denounced by the trust in the New Zealand Herald for breaking the rules it administers, whether or not you have done so.

Oh – just one final observation.

If you do get nabbed for and are charged with the offence of taking or possessing an included species in contravention of the regulations, bylaws made under these regulations or “the conditions of a puka whakamana”, guess what?

It is a defence to those proceedings to show that the taking was for scientific study under the Conservation Act 1987 or the Fisheries Act 1996.

Hurrah for science.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton