UPDATE – 3 October 2024
Second consultation
The closing date for submissions for the second round of this consultation was 18 November 2024.
For individuals
Mā te takitahi
Application for mātaitai reserve around the Ruapuke Island Group, Foveaux Strait, Southland
Background to this consultation
Topi Whānau, Whaitiri Whānau, and Te Rūnaka o Awarua applied for a mātaitai reserve around the Ruapuke Island Group, Foveaux Strait. This application was made on behalf of landowners of the Ruapuke Island Group.
This was the first of 2 consultations held about the application.
Find out about the second consultation
This was a new mātaitai reserve application for Ruapuke Island. Those who submitted on a similar application in June to September 2023 were contacted individually and had the opportunity to amend or withdraw based on the new application.
What was proposed?
The approximate area of the proposed mātaitai reserve included the South Island fisheries waters around the Ruapuke Island Group, Katiapā (Seal Rocks), Papatea / Kauati-a-Tamatea (Green Island), Hinewaikārara (the Hazelburgh Group), Motuharo / Motuhara (Bird Island), Pōhutuwai (White Island), and included the nearby named and unnamed rocks and isletsPōhutuwai (White Island), and included the nearby named and unnamed rocks and islets.
Consultation documents
Map of the proposed Ruapuke mātaitai reserve [PDF, 572 KB]
Application for Ruapuke mātaitai reserve [PDF, 253 KB]
Public meeting and notices
As part of this consultation, a public meeting was held in Bluff on 25 July to discuss the application.
Public notices about this consultation
Public notices about the meeting with the local community and the call for submissions were scheduled to be published in the Otago Daily Times and the Southland Times on:
- Tuesday 9 July
- Thursday 18 July.
A notice was also scheduled to appear in the Southland Express on Thursday, 11 July 2024.
About mātaitai reserves
A mātaitai reserve is an identified traditional fishing ground and is established for the purpose of customary food gathering. Mātaitai reserves are limited to fisheries waters and do not include any land area.
Mātaitai reserves do not change any existing arrangements for access to private land.
Mātaitai reserves do not affect private landowners’ land titles, or their ability to exercise resource consents for such things as taking water or extracting gravel or sand. Resource consents are managed under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Find out more about mātaitai reserves
Fisheries (South Island Customary Fishing) Regulations 1999 – NZ Legislation
Recreational fishing
When a mātaitai reserve is established, the recreational fishing rules do not change. However, the Tangata Tiaki for a mātaitai reserve may propose changes to the rules at a later date.
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
