Maoris urged to respect fishing judgment

Press, 1 September 1986, Page 2

Maoris urged to respect fishing judgment

PA Wellington A recent High Court judgment on fishing rights was not a “free licence for Maori people to rape the coastline,” a’ Maori member of Parliament has said. Nor was it one for the news media to overesti‘mate the shellfish taken from northern beaches, said Dr Bruce Gregory, (Northern Maori).

Dr Gregory, chairman of the Labour Party’s Maori policy committee, said he applauded the High Court decision that the Treaty of Waitangi

overruled fishing law and regulations when Maoris took seafood for their own use.

He said it was “a courageous decision giving heart to the course of justice, and (one) felt by many Maori New Zealanders to be a vindication of their customary fishing rights.” But Dr Gregory said this was not an opportunity to flout a new-found gain nor a chance to fuel racial strife. The Maori ethos was deeply steeped in principles of fish and shellfish conservation.

“The maintenance of a healthy and appropriate environment for fish and shellfish were known to the Maori of old. Tribal fishing boundaries were and are known and stringent measures were enforced,” said Dr Gregory. On Thursday, the chairman of the Maori Council chairman Sir Graham Latimer said toheroas or shellfish should not be taken illegally. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has said that there would be

no toheroa season this year.