E nga mana, e nga reo e nga karangaranga maha kiaora koutou katoa. E tautoko ana matou te kaupapa nei ki te awhi, manaaki me tiaki hoki tenei whenua tapu.
In February 2008, I had the privilege and experience to be a part of a whale resource recovery exercise in Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa at Taupo Bay where the hapu Ngati Rua and Ngati Aukiwa are from. A word of admiration for the efforts by local residents, Department of Conservation, and of course the local tangata whenua for trying to save these rare gray beaked whales. Unfortunately two females and a baby whale could not be saved, a sad experience definitely for all involved.
My role was to inform the local people of their options when dealing with the carcass of deceased whales as there is a strong connection between tohora and our tupuna who used whale as a resource to sustain their whanau and hapu in the times of long ago. With agreement from the local hapu, residents and DoC, and the Ngati Wai coastal iwi of Whangarei, assisted as experts in this particular field to extract the bone and blubber for the benefit of the locals to use as rongoa and taonga. AUT also were on hand to take tissue samples for their research study of whale beachings.
This instigated a hui taking place in Ahipara a week later at Roma marae in regards to a paper being discussed presently, on the role of maori and where they stand in regards to whale resource recovery called: Domestic Trade in Whale Bone from Whales Stranded in NZ and a Framework for the role of Maori in the Management of Whale Strandings Public Discussion Paper.
DoC, FNEC and many marae, hapu and iwi representatives were present to listen and speak about this issue, eventually supporting Ngati Wai in their protocols and processes.
The Discussion paper will be presented to Parliament for debate by the end of March 2008.
