Abstract:
Ngāpuhi, New Zealand's biggest Iwi, join forces with the Recreational Fishing and Big Game Fishing fraternity to take the New Zealand Government to task via a Legal Challenge through the High Court. Termed the "Kahawai Challenge". This action was taken as a consequence of the Ministry of Fisheries placing the kahawai species into the Quota Management System without adequate consultation with groups who have a particular and special interest. Ngāpuhi's special interest in being party to this action is predicated on the fact that Kahawai is the species of fish that were plentiful and was the staple diet for its people living within its social grouping area of the northern part of New Zealand. Its main principle for taking this action is because Ngāpuhi espouses that there needs to be more fish in the sea, by reducing the commercial take. Ngāpuhi's customary fishing rights were lost for ever as the result of the Sea Lord deal in the early 1990s. 95% of the time when Ngāpuhi go out fishing, they are Recreational Fishermen and so it was apt that they joined with the Big Game Fishing and Recreational Fishing to take this action.
