Te Arawa Lakes
Sustainable Management Framework for Te Arawa Lakes Customary Fishing
Background
Map of the Te Arawa Lakes
NIWA and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, with support from the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology and the Health Research Council, have developed a sustainable management framework for customary fisheries in Te Arawa lakes, as part of a joint 3 year research programme. The figure shows the location of the Te Arawa lakes, which include lakes Rotoehu, Rotomā, Rotoiti, Rotorua, Ōkataina, Ōkareka, Rerewhakaaitu, Tarawera, Rotomāhana, Tikitapu, Ngahewa, Ōkaro, Ngāpouri and Tutaeinanga. As part of this programme we have developed tools, monitoring methods and guidelines based on customary knowledge and sound scientific principles that focus specifically on culturally important mahinga kai and taonga species. We have provided Te Arawa with the capacity to manage their lakes non-commercial fisheries sustainably and in a manner that is consistent with their tikanga and kawa. The focus of the project is on freshwater crayfish, mussel and fish species, including kōura (Paranephrops planifrons), kākahi (Hyridella menziesi), kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis), common smelt (Retropinna retropinna) and tuna (Anguilla australis and A. dieffenbachii).
Research components
There are three main components to this research programme:
(1) Characterisation of taonga and mahinga kai species of the lakes (in terms of both cultural and scientific values)
We have documented cultural and scientific knowledge on five taonga/mahinga kai species from Te Arawa lakes using scientific and kaupapa Māori methodologies. An 
overview report of the project and a general description of the aquatic fauna is of the Te Arawa lakes is available. Reports for each species are also available and can be downloaded by clicking the appropriate icon below. Pictorial summary information sheets have been developed for each species. A guide for assessing the health of kakahi has also been developed.
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(2) Assessment of the likelihood of changes to these resources in the face of anthropogenically-induced environmental variability
We have used this knowledge to develop the capacity to predict the relationships between water quality and habitat variables for taonga/mahinga kai species. We have developed conceptual models that describe how various physical (e.g., water quality) and biological (e.g., predation) variables control the distribution and abundance of the five taonga/mahinga kai species in the Te Arawa lakes have been developed using existing information.
(3) Identification of potential management options that fit into a regional management framework for the lakes.
Using the conceptual models as a basis, we have developed a Knowledge Network Model which describes the relationships between water quality and habitat variables for koura. We have used a novel modelling approach (Bayesian Belief Network or BBN) to achieve this reseach component. This model allows us to test scenarios predicting what changes we would expect to koura populations associated with changes, for example, in water quality.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the contributions from the following people: Roku Mihinui, Hera Smith and Willy Emery, Te Arawa Lakes Trust; Bella Tait, Rotorua District Council; David Hamilton and Joseph Butterworth, University of Waikato; John Clayton, Tracey Edwards, Max Gibbs, Kristel van Houte-Howes, Clive Howard-Williams, Weno Iti, Charlotte Severne, Apanui Skipper, Thomas Wilding and Erica Williams, NIWA.
This project has been funded by FRST/HRC Māori Development under contract C01X0512 “Sustainable Management Framework for Te Arawa Lakes Customary Fishing”.