Translocation of black foot pāua (

Abstract

Loss of access to cultural keystone species is a familiar story across the Pacific. Serial depletion of pāua (abalone, Haliotis iris), a cultural keystone for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, threatens Indigenous practices and values. Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, a hapū (subtribe) of Ngāi Tahu, have struggled for over 30 years to address loss of local pāua populations. Regulations introduced by the East Otago Taiāpure, a customary fishery management area established in 1999, recognise Indigenous rights to access and manage marine resources. Despite concerted efforts to rebuild pāua populations while allowing fishing, pāua have continued to decline and the fishery was closed in 2019. A wealth of mātauranga (Māori knowledge) surrounds enhancement practices for pāua. Here, mātauranga relating to translocation was collated through interviews and applied, in conjunction with additional knowledge bases, to translocate pāua from reefs threatened by sand inundation to more accessible but historically overexploited bays. In total, 420 pāua, translocated across 21 sites, were monitored for a 2-week period, after which aggregations returned to pretranslocation densities. Total mortality reached 8.8% over this time, attributed primarily to predation by the sea star Astrostole scabra. Results suggest that translocation may not be suitable for creating artificial aggregations using the methods applied; however, it could address other management concerns, hence suggestions are made for methodological improvements. The interaction between pāua and A. scabra demonstrates the need for continued transformation in management to allow for the application of a multispecies integrated approach in the restoration of pāua.

Local management to support local fisheries: Rāhui (temporary closure) and bag limits for blackfoot abalone (Haliotis iris) in southern New Zealand

“…Stock enhancement has also been trialled with reseeding in 2013 utilizing the data from the juvenile surveys to aid in the selection of suitable habitat (Gillies, 2014). The reseeding was followed by a translocation in 2020 during which pāua were moved from a site inundated by sand to sites where pāua were traditionally harvested but are now largely absent (Bennett‐Jones et al, 2021). Finally, in December 2019, the entire EOT was closed to pāua harvesting (both commercial and recreational) until populations recover sufficiently to support local fishing again (e.g.…”

Constraints to effective comanagement of New Zealand's customary fisheries: experiences of the East Otago Taiāpure

“…Through the Committee, the local hapū has been provided an avenue through which to work toward restoring this taonga species (Jackson et al 2018; Table 1). A longterm monitoring program has been established and runs every four years (Hepburn et al 2008, Richards 2009, Gnanalingam 2013Hepburn et al 2016), bag limits have been reduced and areas closed (Gnanalingam et al 2021), and active restoration strategies have been trialed (Gillies 2013, Bennett-Jones et al 2021. Management of pāua within the Taiāpure has proven successful regarding many aspects of comanagement; community efforts are focused at a small scale (25 km of coastal habitat), enabling reefby-reef management and restoration that observes and accounts for the fine scale variability of pāua and the management goals of the community.…”

Towards resilience in the Anthropocene: transforming conservation biology through Indigenous perspectives

“…The prior papers set the scene for the emergence of a variety of species-specific applications that are examples of conservation management led through Indigenous perspectives. In their paper entitled, 'Translocation of black foot pa ¯ua (Haliotis iris) in a customary fishery management area: transformation from top-down management to kaitiakitanga (local guardianship) of a cultural keystone', authors L. Bennett-Jones, G. Gnanalingam, B. Flack, N. Scott, D. Pritchard, H. Moller, and C. Hepburn demonstrate how multiple knowledge sources can be integrated to inform translocation of a culturally-important mollusk (Bennett-Jones et al 2021). Indigenous knowledge was important not only in designing the translocation, but also in interpreting the outcomes of this effort and informing conservation planning for improved decision making.…”