Eyes on pāua gathering in region

People gathering pāua on coastal Taranaki beaches this weekend will be watched by volunteers concerned that the region’s shellfish beds are being stripped bare.

Large numbers of gatherers are expected because very low tides will make the delicacy more accessible.

It coincides with Auckland Anniversary Weekend and Chinese New Year celebrations beginning on Tuesday.

A run of very low tides earlier this month saw hundreds of people gathering pāua between Oakura and Opunake.

As a result, a sevenmonth rāhui was put in place along 12km of the coast by hapū Orimupiko Marae to protect the pāua beds.

The rāhui means everyone is banned from taking shellfish, but as it is a customary requirement it is not enforceable.

During the weekend, volunteers will be counting vehicles at road ends and people on the beaches, and also documenting what harvesting methods they are using, one of the organisers, Erin John, who runs Facebook group ‘‘Save Our Kaimoana’’, said.

‘‘This weekend’s tide observers are volunteers who want to protect our kaimoana for future generations,’’ John said.

‘‘And we hope that those who are coming from out of town will go back to their home provinces and tell their people that they are being watched, and the Taranaki community will no longer tolerate the plundering of the district.’’ Volunteers from Parihaka would be observing pāua gathering at Bayly Rd, she said.

An online meeting was held yesterday to co-ordinate a roster of observers and set protocols.

The volunteers would explain to people harvesting pāua about the rāhui in some areas, the rules, and direct them to a Fisheries officer.

‘‘We have asked Fisheries to send one to one of the beaches to help us out,’’ John said.

The information the volunteers gather would be collated and used in an application to the Ministry of Fisheries for a legal restriction on gathering to protect the reefs, she said.

She had also notified police about the observation plan.

It was also likely that more rāhui would be put on stretches of the coast, John said, although this was a decision for each hapū to make.

This could result in rahūi being in place from the Herekawe Stream to the Oeo Stream.

A rāhui put in place last year around Waiheke Island by Ngāti Pāoa led to Fisheries New Zealand closing the scallop, mussel, rock lobster and pāua fisheries for two years as of January 1.

Pāua is a delicacy that can sell for $25 each, but it is illegal for amateur fishers to sell or trade their catch. In Taranaki, people are permitted to gather up to 10 pāua of 85mm or larger per person per day.