MEDIA RELEASE
23 March 2007

All Tainui Iwi Allocated Fisheries Assets

All iwi within the Tainui confederation have been allocated their share of Maori commercial fisheries assets following the approval of Ngati Maniapoto this week.

Ngati Maniapoto will receive more than $18 million in value of Maori fisheries assets after its new tribal entity, the Maniapoto Fisheries Trust, was approved as the body to receive the tribal fisheries assets.

The Maniapoto Maori Trust Board will act as corporate trustee to the trust and as the Mandated Iwi Organisation for Maniapoto, under the Maori Fisheries Act, Trust Board Chairman Tiwha Bell said today. “This is a significant moment in the history of the iwi. We look forward to utilising these fisheries assets to participate in the commercial fishing industry and to advance our iwi,” Mr Bell said.

The Chief Executive of Te Ohu Kaimoana, Peter Douglas, said today that, “As an individual iwi, this is a sizeable allocation of fisheries assets and it will provide a sound economic base for the iwi to move forward.”

Mr Douglas said the Trust Board’s management and constitutional structures received full support from the vast majority of members who voted in recent elections. Ngati Maniapoto is the last of the Tainui confederation to receive their share of the Fisheries Settlement assets. A total of over $58 million in value has been allocated to the Tainui region of Ngati Maniapoto, Waikato, Hauraki and Ngati Raukawa.

Initially, these consist of deepwater quota, shares in Aotearoa Fisheries Limited and cash. The inshore quota, 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. The only neighbouring iwi to Ngati Maniapoto yet to be mandated is Ngati Tama, Taranaki.

Mr Bell said he would be concerned if the value of this Settlement was reduced through the current Shared Fisheries proposals being advanced by the Government. “It would be a sad day to see us receive this settlement one day only to have the value of it cut by the Government the next.”

ENDS

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