Your views sought
Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua has applied for a mātaitai reserve at Orari, South Canterbury.
Fisheries New Zealand invites submissions from people who take fish, aquatic life, or seaweed or own quota, and whose ability to take fish, aquatic life, or seaweed or whose ownership interest in quota may be affected by the proposed mātaitai reserve.
Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua and Fisheries New Zealand have previously consulted the local community on the application.
Find out about the first consultation with the local community (closed 7/08/2023)
What's being proposed?
The proposed area includes the lower reaches of the Orari River, Coopers Creek and Ohapi Creek, east of State Highway 1 at Temuka, South Canterbury, and the adjoining streams, creeks and bodies of water within a defined boundary.
Map and application document
Map of the proposed Orari Mātaitai Reserve [PDF, 11 MB]
Application from Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua for the Orari Mātaitai Reserve [PDF, 604 KB]
Making your submission
Submissions close at 5pm on Wednesday 6 March 2024
Email your submission to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
While we prefer email, you can post your submission to:
Fisheries Management – Spatial Allocations
Fisheries New Zealand
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.
Public notices about this consultation
Public notices about the call for submissions are scheduled to appear in the Christchurch Press and the Timaru Herald on Wednesday 24 January 2024.
About mātaitai reserves
A mātaitai reserve is an identified traditional fishing ground which tangata whenua have a special relationship with. Mātaitai reserves are limited to fisheries waters and do not include any land area. Mātaitai reserves do not change any existing arrangements for access to private land.
Mātaitai reserves also do not affect private landowners’ land titles, or their ability to exercise resource consents for such things as taking water or extracting gravel or sand. Resource consents are managed under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Mātaitai reserves do not change the existing recreational fishing rules. However, commercial fishing is banned in a mātaitai reserve.
Mātaitai reserves do not have an impact on whitebait or trout fishing.
Find out more about mātaitai reserves
Fisheries (South Island Customary Fishing) Regulations 1999 – NZ Legislation
