UPDATE – 9 March 2020
The Minister of Fisheries has approved one bylaw for the Te Puna Mātaitai reserve in the northern Bay of Islands.
The bylaw prohibits the take or possession of three types of mussel: green lipped, black, and blue mussels.
The bylaw comes into effect on 23 March 2020.
Check the bylaws - the New Zealand Gazette
Bylaw for Te Puna Mātaitai Reserve, Bay of Islands [PDF, 3.1 MB]
Have your say
The tangata tiaki/kaitiaki of Te Puna Mātaitai reserve in the Bay of Islands have noticed a significant depletion of mussels in their mātaitai. They consider the disappearance of the sacred kūtai to be a crisis, and have requested a new bylaw to prohibit collection of 3 mussel species within the mātaitai reserve boundaries. This will help to restore the mussel beds and ensure the sustainability of the population, supporting future recreational and customary harvest.
The proposed bylaw is: “No person may take green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus), blue mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), or black mussel (Xenostrobus pulex) from within the Te Puna Mātaitai reserve area.”
Submissions open on 18 November 2019 and will close at 5pm on Friday 13 December 2019.
Consultation documents
Proposed Mataitai Bylaw for the Te Puna Mātaitai Reserve [PDF, 529 KB]
Map of Te Puna Mātaitai Reserve [PDF, 978 KB]
Making your submission
Email your feedback on the draft documents by 5pm on 13 December 2019 to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
Put “Te Puna Mātaitai bylaw proposal” in the subject line of your email.
While we prefer email, you can post your submission to:
Fisheries New Zealand
Whangarei District Office
Private Bag 9013
Whangarei 0140.
What to include
- the title of the consultation document
- your name and title
- your organisation’s name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation, and whether your submission represents the whole organisation or a section of it)
- your contact details (such as phone number, address, and email).
Submissions are public information
Note that any submission you make becomes public information. People can ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we have to make submissions available unless we have a good reason for withholding it. That is explained in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it’s commercially sensitive or it’s personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.
