Fund set up to assist tangata whenua
The Customary Fisheries Research Fund provides financial assistance for fisheries research to help tangata whenua manage their customary fisheries. It also helps tangata whenua who are working towards gazettal or are currently gazetted under the Kaimoana Customary Fishing Regulations 1998 or the South Island Customary Fishing Regulations 1999.
The aims of the Customary Fisheries Research Fund
The strategic objectives are to:
- collate information on fishing practices of Māori that may need to be considered when making fisheries management decisions
- assist Māori to manage and measure the outcome of customary practice within their rohe moana (coastal area) that adds to their traditional and customary well-being
- determine past levels of Māori customary and traditional harvest levels and help clarify the relationship between customary and traditional rights and current harvest levels
- provide customary fisheries information to enhance and add value to sustainable fisheries management processes.
2026 funding round timetable
- 1 July: Applications open for phase 1.
- 3 August: Applications close for phase 1.
- 17 August: Applications open for phase 2.
- 14 September: Applications close for phase 2.
- 1 October: Successful applicants notified.
- 30 October: Funding agreements finalised.
Phase 1 application form 2026-27 [DOCX, 193 KB]
A guide to customary research proposals and processes (2026–2027) [PDF, 408 KB]
Email your application to customaryresearch@mpi.govt.nz
History of the fund
Fisheries New Zealand's Customary Fisheries Research Fund was created following the establishment of the Kaimoana Customary Fishing Regulations 1998 and the South Island Customary Fishing Regulations 1999 (the Customary Fisheries Regulations). To help comply with parts of the Customary Fisheries Regulations, Māori requested funding to better research:
- traditional and oral information related to customary gathering
- traditional practices with regard to mahinga mātaitai and tauranga ika.
Customary research projects funded in 2025
| Title | Entity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tirohia Tangaroa Te Kaitiaki O Te Moana (‘Tirohia Tangaroa’) | Tau Iho I Te Po Trust | A hapu led assessment and development of tohu moana, to the build capacity of hapu to manage and monitor customary harvest practices in far North. Support will be given from the University of Waikato, Mountains to Sea Trust, Rawlinson Group, hapū and Iwi. |
|
Ka hāhā te tuna ki te roto: Tangata tiaki-led tuna surveys at Te Roto o Wairewa, a mahinga kai exemplar |
Wairewa Rūnanga | Tuna surveys in Te Roto o Wairewa will repeat work done in 1975, 2005 and 2021 to establish a baseline population and biomass estimate to assess the impact of a new fish passage to be constructed through the gravel berm at Te Mata Hāpuku. The project will further develop a matauranga Maori approach to surveys in cooperation with Wairewa Rūnanga, Earth Sciences New Zealand, University of Canterbury, and papatipu members. |
|
He Kura o Nga Tai o Raukura: Te Oranga o te Mangō me tōna Iwi A Sacred Treasure of the tides of Raukura: The Life of the Shark and Its People |
Mirumiru Pā ki Marokopa | This project will collect, protect, and revitalise mātauranga Māori relating to customary harvesting, preparation, and drying of mangō (shark) by the whānau and hapū of Mirumiru Pā ki Marokopa. The knowledge will be preserved for future generations via an archive, while also informing wider customary fisheries networks and management. |
