Fund set up to assist tangata whenua
The Customary Fisheries Research Fund provides financial assistance for fisheries research to help tangata whenua manage their customary fisheries. It also helps tangata whenua who are working towards gazettal, or are currently gazetted, under the Kaimoana Customary Fishing Regulations 1998 or the South Island Customary Fishing Regulations 1999.
The aims of the Customary Fisheries Research Fund
The strategic objectives are to:
- collate information on fishing practices of Māori that may need to be considered when making fisheries management decisions
- assist Māori to manage and measure the outcome of customary practice within their rohe moana (coastal area) that adds to their traditional and customary well-being
- determine past levels of Māori customary and traditional harvest levels and help clarify the relationship between customary and traditional rights and current harvest levels
- provide customary fisheries information to enhance and add value to sustainable fisheries management processes.
2024 funding round timetable
- 1 July: Applications open.
- 29 July: Applications close.
- 9 August: Successful applicants will be notified to go on to phase 2.
- Early September: Evaluation of phase 2 applicants.
- By 20 September: Results finalised.
- By October: Details and confirmation of funding agreements will be completed.
A guide to customary research proposals and processes (2024–2025) [PDF, 533 KB]
History of the fund
Fisheries New Zealand's Customary Fisheries Research Fund was created following the establishment of the Kaimoana Customary Fishing Regulations 1998 and the South Island Customary Fishing Regulations 1999 (the Customary Fisheries Regulations). To help comply with parts of the Customary Fisheries Regulations, Māori requested funding to better research:
- traditional and oral information related to customary gathering
- traditional practices with regard to mahinga mātaitai and tauranga ika.
Customary research projects funded in 2024
| Entity | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ngatiwai Ki Whangaruru Whenua Topu Trust | He Taonga te Pāua | A bilingual book for children on sustainable harvest of pāua, utilising traditional mātauranga Māori translated from Te Reo Māori into English. |
| Maketu Taiāpure Committee | Ecological survey of marine taonga species, Okurei, Maketu | A field study to produce an ecological report about key kaimoana species (particularly mussels) as well as an assessment on threats to the cultural and ecological health of the reefs surrounding Ōkūrei Point in Maketu. |
| Ngāi Tahu / University of Otago | Expanding local knowledge on seafloor characteristics and the population dynamics of taonga species, fish stocks, and biodiversity. | Creation of maps, via multibeam echosounder, to inform the taiāpure managers and help determine if the boundary design in the taiāpure is appropriate to manage mobile species like rāwaru. This work will also provide broader knowledge around the status of fisheries and issues that might be occurring, improving local customary fisheries management. |
| Tahaaroa Lakes Trust/NIWA | Nga taonga tuku iho o ngaa roto o Tahaaroa | A tuna survey in Lake Tahaaroa that will assess the current status of the tuna population and how it has changed over 17 years. Repeating the methodology of a 2007 survey, NIWA will examine the current population structure at 20 sites and assess how the tuna population has changed over the past 17 years, identifying long-term changes in these data-deficient taonga species. |
| Whangaokena ki Onepoto Takutai Kaitiaki Trust | E rere Maraehara ki Te Moananui a Kiwa e! | Collating korero about the Maraehara tributaries and their history, sites of significance, health and vitality, customary practices, and taonga species to restore the mauri of the awa. These will be captured from pakeke and other holders of korero tuku iho. |
