Source: Ministry for Primary Industries
Your views sought
Ngā tāngata kaitiaki ō Te Hikutū (Te Hikutū Hapū) has applied for a mātaitai reserve (“Te Mātaitai ō Te Hikutū”) in the southern part of the Hokianga Harbour, Northland.
Fisheries New Zealand invites submissions from persons having a fishing interest in the stock or stocks in the proposed mātaitai reserve.
Te Hikutū Hapū and Fisheries New Zealand have previously consulted the local community on the application.
Find out about the first consultation with the local community (closed 13 May 2024)
What’s being proposed?
The proposed area includes the fisheries waters within a portion of southern Hokianga Harbour extending approximately 500 metres from the mean high-water mark, between Koutu Point and the Whirinaki River mouth, and adjoining freshwater fisheries waters.
Te Hikutū Hapū amended the original proposed area following the first consultation with the local community.
Consultation documents
Map of proposed mātaitai [PDF, 2 MB]
Te Mātaitai ō Te Hikutū application [PDF, 9.3 MB]
Making your submission
Submissions close at 5pm on Monday 19 May 2025.
Email your submission to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
While we prefer email, you can post your submission to:
Fisheries management – Spatial allocations
Fisheries New Zealand
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.
Public notices about this consultation
Public notices about the call for submissions are scheduled to appear in the Northern Advocate and Northland Age on 3 April 2025.
About mātaitai reserves
A mātaitai reserve is an identified traditional fishing ground which tangata whenua have a special relationship with. Mātaitai reserves are limited to fisheries waters and do not include any land area. Mātaitai reserves do not change any existing arrangements for access to private land.
Mātaitai reserves also do not affect private landowners’ land titles, or their ability to exercise resource consents for such things as taking water or extracting gravel or sand. Resource consents are managed under the Resource Management Act 1991.
When a mātaitai reserve is established, the recreational fishing rules do not change. However, the Tangata Kaitiaki for a mātaitai reserve may propose changes to the rules at a later date.
Commercial fishing is prohibited in a mātaitai reserve but can be reinstated at the request of the Tangata Kaitiaki for the mātaitai reserve for specified species, quantity or time period.
Mātaitai reserves do not have an impact on whitebait or trout fishing.
Find out more about mātaitai reserves
Fisheries (Kaimoana Customary Fishing) Regulations 1998 – NZ Legislation
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
