Request for a temporary closure
Pursuant to section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996, Fisheries New Zealand has received a request from Ngāi Tai Umupuia Te Waka Totara Trust (the Trust), on behalf of Ngāi Tai ki Tamaki and the Umupuia Marae, for a 2-year temporary closure of Umupuia Beach, Manukau, to the harvest of cockles.
Background
Section 186A provides that the Minister of Fisheries may temporarily close an area, or temporarily restrict or prohibit the use of any fishing method in respect of an area, if satisfied that the closure, restriction, or prohibition will recognise and provide for the use and management practices of tangata whenua in the exercise of non-commercial fishing rights.
The Trust considers that a 2-year closure will recognise and provide for the management practices of Ngāi Tai ki Tamaki and the Umupuia Marae, in their exercise of non-commercial fishing rights, and allow time to develop protocols for future management and any future harvest options.
Proposed area
The proposed temporary closure covers the New Zealand fisheries waters at Umupuia Beach landwards of a straight line from Te Puea (at the western end of Umupuia Beach) to Whakakaiwhara Point (at the eastern end of Umupuia Beach).
The proposed temporary closure covers about 1.4 square kilometres.
Consultation documents
A copy of the request and a map of the proposed area are available to download. You can also ask to be sent printed copies.
- Umupuia request for closure [PDF, 297 KB]
- Umupuia map [PDF, 308 KB]
Making your submission
Written submissions in response to this request are invited from persons who have an interest in cockles or in the effects of fishing in the area.
A public notice calling for written submissions was published in The New Zealand Herald on 6 October 2018.
The closing date for submissions is 5 November 2018.
Submissions should be sent to:
Customary Fisheries and Spatial Allocations
Fisheries New Zealand
PO Box 2526 Wellington 6140.
Or emailed to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
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.
