Hauraki Iwi To Receive Fisheries Assets

4 August 2006

Hauraki Iwi To Receive Fisheries Assets

Te Ohu Kaimoana and the Hauraki Maori Trust Board said today in a joint statement that the Trust Board has been recognised as a Joint Mandated Iwi Organisation (JMIO) representing the 12 iwi of Hauraki.

The Hauraki Maori Trust Board Chief Executive Josie Anderson said Hauraki was delighted with the approval.

She said the return of the fisheries resources was a key plank of the board’ s strategic and economic development plans and would be a big boost not just to Hauraki but also to the whole region. “Our focus is to establish the appropriate commercial structures to manage these assets to achieve the best returns for our people.”

“Some preliminary work has been done and our aim is to have the administrative structures completed by the beginning of the next fishing season,” Ms Anderson said.

The Chief Executive of Te Ohu Kaimoana, the Maori Fisheries Trust, Peter Douglas, said, “The leadership must be congratulated for bringing together the Hauraki iwi for this achievement. Many iwi around the country acknowledge the economic advantages of pooling their fisheries assets to achieve the best returns in the future.”

Te Ohu Kaimoana will transfer over $7.9 million. While they initially receive ownership of some deepwater quota, income shares in Aotearoa Fisheries Limited and cash, the inshore, harbour, remaining deepwater and freshwater fishstocks would be allocated once agreements have been reached with adjacent iwi. These agreements can be concluded when those adjacent iwi have also been recognised as MIOs.

ENDS

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