Maori Begin Project to Rejuvenate Mataura River

By LANDRETH, Robert

SOUTHLAND tangata whenua have partnered with Landcare Research in a two-and-a-half year project to help restore the health of the Mataura River eco-system.

Study sites will cover the river from source to sea, which includes New Zealand’s first fresh water mataitai (reserve) in the township of Mataura at Te Au-Nui, a traditional kanakana (lamprey) fishery.

Hokonui Runanga kaiwhakahaere Rewi Anglem said the project was in its early days but “the ideal at this stage was making the river a wee bit healthier than what it is, and in the long term getting it back to the stage it was pre-1870″ .

Once the research results were in, tangata whenua would then have to convince councils with scientific proof that Maori management methods were sustainable and beneficial, Mr Anglem said.

Technical advisor Rodney Trainor said the project was a collaborative approach that would align Western science with matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge and skill), and would provide Maori with the tools to help successfully manage the river.

The project would help Southland in its resource management and received support from the Gore District Council, Environment Southland, Department of Conservation, Fish and Game, and Dongwha, which reflected the collaborative approach Maori were taking, he said.

Landcare Research scientists will measure for the presence of chemical residues in kanakana and tuna (eel) caught on the river.

Mr Trainor said they expected to start taking the first samples of tuna in the next four to six weeks.

Tuna from Mataura tributaries would be decontaminated, then placed in cages in the Mataura for three to four weeks, before analysis for chemical residues.

Mr Trainor said that unlike trout, very little was known about the native fish population in the river.

(c) 2007 Southland Times, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.