Eddie Waitoa is a Fisheries Officer on the Mahia Peninsula. He explains what his work is, and why it is important.
Kaimoana is food we get from the sea – foods like pāua, crayfish, pipi, kina, and fish. I was the leader of a diving team for ten years, and over that time I saw that the undersea creatures were steadily disappearing. There is now far less kaimoana around our shores than there used to be. There is a simple explanation: some people are taking too much, too often. Maybe these people think the sea coast is like a magic fridge that will always stay full, no matter what. Well, if people take just a few adult pāua or crayfish, or kina or pipi – enough for a feed for themselves and their families – the "fridge" will always stay full. But if people are greedy and take too much, or take the young ones before they grow big enough to reproduce themselves, then the fridge will get cleaned out.
That has happened. There are places along the coast where there used to be plenty of kaimoana. Now some of those places are almost barren. That's why I've taken on this work: to try and save what is left.
The Ministry of Fisheries has set rules about the size and number of all the different kinds of kaimoana you can take. My job is to remind people about the rules and to check that they are following them.
Sometimes people need to get extra kaimoana for a hui. Anyone can come to me and get a permit for that, but before they take the seafood, they have to get that permit signed by a kaumātua of the area. Of course, the elders will be careful not to allow too much to be taken.
The warrant I carry from the Ministry gives me the power to stop people if I think they are carrying kaimoana, and check it. Mostly that's OK. People understand that if we don't do this, soon there won't be any kaimoana left. It'll be like the toheroa – they've had to ban any taking at all to give those shellfish a chance to build up again.
But there are always a few people who will try to cheat, and there are people who are selling what they catch. That's illegal unless you have a special licence. That's where my job gets difficult. There are only eight of us Fisheries Officers in this area to cover about a hundred and fifty kilometres of coastline.
Sometimes people who've taken too much will try to hide seafood in their cars. Sometimes divers will leave a sack of under-sized crayfish out on the reef attached to a buoy, and go back for it at night. Well, we can't be everywhere at once, and we know that sometimes poachers get away with it. But these people are criminals. Fortunately there are plenty of people along the coast who will give me or one of the other Fisheries Officers a ring if they see something suspicious going on.
But most of our work is not stopping those sorts of criminals. It's talking to people, explaining the rules, and helping to protect the kaimoana. That way, when today's young people grow up and have children of their own, there will still be kaimoana left for them to eat.
That has happened. There are places along the coast where there used to be plenty of kaimoana. Now some of those places are almost barren. That's why I've taken on this work: to try and save what is left.
The Ministry of Fisheries has set rules about the size and number of all the different kinds of kaimoana you can take. My job is to remind people about the rules and to check that they are following them.
Sometimes people need to get extra kaimoana for a hui. Anyone can come to me and get a permit for that, but before they take the seafood, they have to get that permit signed by a kaumātua of the area. Of course, the elders will be careful not to allow too much to be taken.
The warrant I carry from the Ministry gives me the power to stop people if I think they are carrying kaimoana, and check it. Mostly that's OK. People understand that if we don't do this, soon there won't be any kaimoana left. It'll be like the toheroa – they've had to ban any taking at all to give those shellfish a chance to build up again.
But there are always a few people who will try to cheat, and there are people who are selling what they catch. That's illegal unless you have a special licence. That's where my job gets difficult. There are only eight of us Fisheries Officers in this area to cover about a hundred and fifty kilometres of coastline.
Sometimes people who've taken too much will try to hide seafood in their cars. Sometimes divers will leave a sack of under-sized crayfish out on the reef attached to a buoy, and go back for it at night. Well, we can't be everywhere at once, and we know that sometimes poachers get away with it. But these people are criminals. Fortunately there are plenty of people along the coast who will give me or one of the other Fisheries Officers a ring if they see something suspicious going on.
But most of our work is not stopping those sorts of criminals. It's talking to people, explaining the rules, and helping to protect the kaimoana. That way, when today's young people grow up and have children of their own, there will still be kaimoana left for them to eat.