Pa¯ua raids force iwi to take action

A Tararua iwi plans to patrol its coastline to ensure the moana is protected after hundreds of undersized pa¯ua were taken from a beach.

Nga¯ti Kahungunu ki Ta¯maki nui-a-Rua chairman Hayden Hape told Stuff he had discovered more than 300 empty pa¯ua shells on the beach at kitio and nearly all the pa¯ua were under the legal size to be taken.

kitio is on the coast of the lower North Island, about an hour east of Dannevirke, and has a reef used by divers.

After the shocking discovery, Hape said the iwi intended to take matters into its own hands.

‘‘We’ll start monitoring it ourselves. We will recruit some of our own rangers.’’

Near the campground he found a large bunch of shells on January 4, then discovered more when he returned on Wednesday this week.

Hape took a team of the iwi’s environmental rangers and combed the beach.

One pile of shells had 64 undersized pa¯ua in it. Of the more than 300 pa¯ua, only 12 were legal size, he said.

Some had been left with the meat still in the shell.

‘‘There’s no policing going on out there at all, no ministry of fisheries, no police.’’

He believed the pillage happened during the holiday period. This was the first time he had seen something like this.

‘‘It’s the worst it’s ever been.’’ In a video posted on Facebook, Hape is filmed sorting through and measuring the empty pa¯ua shells in disgust.

In the video he said he wanted people to be informed so they followed the rules and didn’t disrespect the moana when they came to the beach.

Hape, who reported it to the police and Ministry for Primary Industries, said most people who came to kitio during the holiday period were from outside the region and he believed it was those visitors who had taken the pa¯ua.

‘‘A lot of people are coming from outside our district and abusing it,’’ he told

Hayden Hape

Nga¯ti Kahungunu ki Ta¯maki nui-a-Rua chairman

‘‘There’s no policing going on out there at all.’’

There were concerns pa¯ua numbers would be ravaged if this continued.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Primary Industries said the police would respond on the ministry’s behalf.

Police said officers were ‘‘aware of issues with undersized pa¯ua in the area’’ and were working with the ministry in response.

The legal size for taking blackfoot pa¯ua is 125 millimetre shell length, except it is 85mm in Taranaki, where pa¯ua don’t reach 125mm.

People can each day take a maximum of 10 ordinary (blackfoot) pa¯ua and 10 yellow-foot pa¯ua. Some areas may have other restrictions and rules.

The size limits are set to allow pa¯ua to reach maturity and breed before being harvested.