Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea

Home » Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea

Iwi

Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea

Aotea, also known as Great Barrier Island, is the ancestral land of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea and the iwi hold mana whenua and mana moana of Aotea, Hauturu-a-Toi, Pokohinu, Rakitū; Rangiahua and other outlying islands, rocky outcrops and seascapes.

The whānau continue to dwell on Aotea and its outlying islands with papakāinga established in Katherine Bay within a native reserve, following questionable land acquisitions, treaty breaches and forced resettlements across the island.

Despite these impacts, the mana and tino rangatiratanga of Aotea remains with Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea. The people subsist from the bounty of the whenua and moana. Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea are kaitiaki of this whenua and moana as their tūpuna did before them.

Biosecurity New Zealand has placed legal controls on parts of Aotea Great Barrier Island in a bid to contain the invasive seaweed Caulerpa brachypus, while the local Mana Whenua governance group on Aotea are supporting a dual response by imposing a rāhui over the same areas.

Caulerpa brachypus, which has been found in Blind Bay and Tryphena Harbour, is an Unwanted Organism under the Biosecurity Act and can spread rapidly and create dense mats. It can be spread to new locations by small fragments and is easily moved by people going about water activities like boating, and fishing, including dredging.

Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai are working with their partners, the Mana Whenua governance group and the local board to try to minimise this spread while they continue to assess where the pest seaweed is and what we can do in response.

From Monday, 20 September, Biosecurity NZ has issued legal controls, known as a Controlled Area Notice (CAN), which will make it illegal to take seafood from Blind Bay or Tryphena Harbour.  Anchoring in the 2 areas is also banned without a permit. At the same time, a rāhui has been imposed. 