09/12/2025
A traditional rāhui has been placed over key coastal areas around Mauao / Mt Maunganui to protect declining kūtai, pāua and kōura stocks, with the Tauranga Moana Iwi Customary Fisheries Trust suspending all customary fishing permits effective immediately.
Spanning kūtai beds between Moturiki and Motuotau and the rocky reef systems around Mauao, the rāhui follows growing concern from tangata kaitiaki over mounting pressure on these taonga species. Trust representative Rehua Smallman says the decision reflects “our responsibility as kaitiaki to step in early, protect what remains, and give these species the chance to recover before the decline becomes a crisis.”
The rāhui will be reinforced through karakia on 13 December and remains in place as Mātaitai Reserve bylaws progress, with all fishers asked to respect the restrictions.
In addition Food Safety NZ has issued a urgent advising people not to collect or eat shellfish from the Bay of Plenty coastline between Maketū Beach and Waihī Beach after routine testing found paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins in p**i above safe limits. All bivalve shellfish: including mussels, oysters, tuatua, p**i, toheroa, cockles, scallops, plus pūpū and Cook’s turban are unsafe to eat, and cooking does not remove the toxin. An expanding algal bloom is driving toxin buildup in shellfish, and symptoms can appear within minutes to hours, ranging from tingling and numbness to paralysis or, in severe cases, death. Pāua, crabs and crayfish may be eaten only if the gut is completely removed first, and finfish remain safe if gutted with livers discarded. Anyone who becomes ill after eating shellfish from this area should call Healthline on 0800 61 11 16 or seek urgent medical care.
