Maori participation in fisheries management plans

Abstract

If tino rangatiratanga as guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi is to be met, Maori participation is considered a desirable and I necessary component in the development of Fisheries Management Plans.

The aim of this study is to propose a model which allows for Maori participation in fisheries management planning at a level equal to that guaranteed in the Treaty of Waitangi.

The study uses Arnstein's ladder of participation (1969) as a "yardstick" for comparing the different levels of participation which may occur. Both the level of Maori participation provided for in the Treaty of Waitangi and in the institutional arrangements (at the constitutional, collective choice and operational levels) in the development of the Auckland and south-East Fisheries Management Plans are examined.

It is concluded that Maori participation, as provided for in institutional arrangements of both Fisheries Management Plans, was at a level below that guaranteed in the Treaty of Waitangi. Furthermore, it is recognised that any system which would allow tino rangatiratanga to be expressed would need to incorporate the values and institutions of Maori. Consequently, a bicultural model for fisheries management planning is proposed, incorporating the values and institutions of both Maori and Pakeha.