This year we are conducting a review of the current state of Mimitangiatua and Urenui catchments. We have engaged Ian and Riaki Ruru to put together the report and they have also introduced a mauri compass app for easier whānau participation which we will be able to share once we get on top of it.
A two-day wānanga was held on 19th & 20th Janaury at the Urenui dive club which was well-attended by 20 whānau who all participated really well. The first day focused on mauri compass education and recap to catch everyone up to our programs and processes, followed by wānanga discussion on tangata-whenua connectedness to place.
After lunch we headed out to our two tupuna awa to set nets and share stories. 16 hīnaki and 16 gee minnows were set across both catchments at 4 sites in each catchment. Taranaki regional council provided support with vehicles, freshwater ecologists and their aquatroll water quality monitoring tool. It was a massive afternoon with the last nets set near the top of kaka road at 6pm.
This year we purchased an extra few peices for measuring and weighing the tuna so we could operate two teams at each site – each site has two hīnaki and two gee minnows. This worked really well and enabled more whānau to meaningfully participate and helped us get through the mahi quicker, especially since we were tackling twice as many sites as normal.
Catch rates look to be similar to last year, but numbers have increased significatntly over the last six years for tuna at least, however, we are noticing smaller catches of galaxids such as inanga and kōkopu as well as bully’s. This could be a habitat issue that we will be able to better address after our inanga spawning and habitat surveys over the next three Rākaunui tides at Mimitangiatua, Urenui and Onaero.
