In the past Maori have traditionally been harvesters of marine mammals and passive harvesters of whale species for food and bone. Currently Maori have no intention to actively harvest whale species, that we are aware of, but rather have developed commercial enterprises based on the protection of whales.
Te Ohu Kai Moana does, however, support the right of indigenous and coastal peoples to sustainably utilise renewable resources as they have traditionally undertaken within their traditional territories.
When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade determines their position to advocate within the International Whaling Commission we urge you to take the following issues into consideration.
THE QUESTION OF COMMERCIAL USE OF WHALES
To advocate the view that indigenous use of wildlife is a subsistence activity alone is not only incorrect but also damaging to those indigenous communities reliant on managing and hunting wildlife. In the past the New Zealand Crown has maintained the position that Maori Fishing activity was for subsistence purposes alone. This view was exhibited in legislation such as the Oyster Fisheries Act 1892, and the Sea Fisheries Amendment Act 1896, amongst others. These pieces of legislation denied the right of the iwi to develop their economic base.
The view that Maori use of fisheries was solely a subsistence activity, was finally rejected by the Waitangi Tribunal in both the Muriwhenua and the Ngai Tahu Sea Fisheries reports. Government acceptance of the Tribunal’s view in this matter was demonstrated in the 1989 and 1992 fisheries settlements. Domestically the New Zealand Government has finally recognised the mixed economy of te iwi Maori and settled past grievances, yet in an international forum they advocate a general position which is clearly no longer tenable.
Te Ohu Kai Moana supports the commercial use of whales by indigenous and coastal peoples so long as it is a sustainable activity.
THE ROLE OF PEOPLE
Sustainable use within traditional societies ensures that wise use is encoded within the cultural norms and social institutions that have evolved over time. The long term persistence of human populations and the biological resources to sustain them (even where available technology is capable of exhausting the resource pool) provides empirical support for the notion that people are generally knowledgeable about and responsible towards the limits of sustainablility.
This general principle, reflecting the general state of affairs, is not invalidated by known (and arguably exceptional) cases where, for reasons of social and or cultural breakdown, some degree of local depletion of resources is seen to have occurred.
Te Ohu Kai Moana supports the direct involvement of indigenous peoples in the decision making process of the International Whaling Commission.
THE ISSUE OF EQUITY
It can be assumed that in a situation where those who invest economic and human capital to the conservation of wildlife resources, but receive no return, might reasonably feel that the management regime was seriously flawed.
In the past it was common for wildlife users to be largely excluded from any meaningful role in the wildlife management. More recently however, where problems have arisen over questions of conservation and equitable allocation, many user groups have sought to become partners in wildlife management. For indigenous wildlife users in particular, goals sought include instituting more culturally-appropriate management regimes, that, inter alia, makes use of the users traditional knowledge of local ecological systems.
Where such customary systems fail to maintain sustainable use the cause is not necessarily the commercial use of the resource but may involve failure of the management system to adapt to changing use-demands (which are not related to commercial activities).
NUTRITIONAL NEED
On the domestic front the Government could consistently argue that Maori have no nutritional need to harvest titi, piharau or tuna and attempt to halt this activity. This would clearly contravene Maori customary rights, guaranteed by the Treaty of Waitangi, to these and other resources. Those same rights impose the obligation of sustainable use on those who exercise them.
Anthropologists firmly believe that customary diet is even more important in establishing and maintaining an individual’s cultural identity than is any other distinctive attribute, including even language. Decisions concerning indigenous use of resources must be examined by a rigorous and comprehensive analysis focusing not only on nutritional need but also traditional or customary rights.
Te Ohu Kai Moana advocates that the constitution of the IWC, as it pertains to "aboriginal subsistence quota", be amended by also including the words "traditional need".
THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION
Regrettably, the protection of non-endangered species does nothing to help those species that are truly endangered, and indeed some argue that such overprotectionist zeal hinders rather than helps the recovery of those species needing assistance.
Indigenous peoples are becoming increasingly sceptical of advocating for their aboriginal rights to sustainably harvest renewable resources from within their traditional territories before an agency, such as the IWC, which they view as being a protectionist body with little understanding of either their rights or traditional knowledge of local ecological systems.
While the IWC continues to be viewed as a protectionist body, its future appears uncertain. Currently, indigenous and coastal peoples, lead by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council of British Columbia, are establishing the World Council of Community Based Whale Users to advocate for their rights on the international stage. Maori have been invited to participate on this council and will shortly make a decision concerning this.
Maori consider it essential that they be involved in the formation of policy as it impacts on their rights and those of other indigenous and coastal peoples.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1a. supports the right of indigenous and coastal peoples to sustainably utilise renewable resources within their traditional territories;
1b. supports the commercial use of whales by indigenous and coastal peoples so long as it is a sustainable activity;
2. supports the direct involvement of indigenous peoples in the decision making process of the IWC;
3. advocates that the constitution of the IWC, as it pertains to "aboriginal subsistence quota", be amended by also including the words "traditional need".
Te Ohu Kai Moana has been engaged in international discussions with indigenous peoples from the Pacific Rim and the Arctic Circle concerning the sustainable use of renewable resources.
Most aboriginal peoples, combine both commercial and subsistence uses of wildlife in order to sustain their cultures and communities. Such mixed (subsistence and market) economies have existed for centuries. In many instances today, as in the past, sustainable use of living resources occurs despite the commercial sale of surplus produce and the use of modern harvest technology.
It appears to be increasingly well understood that people are indeed part of natural ecosystems. One result of the increasing support of a "human in the biosphere" orientation to the environment, is the growing recognition that people, while being resource users, may play a very important role in environmental affairs. Among the various stake holders with concern and useful knowledge about wildlife, people using wildlife may be indispensable for ensuring that rational conservation strategies are successfully implemented.
The importance of equity is increasingly recognised in discussions about rational wildlife management. For example, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature has endorsed the idea that the social and economic benefits from sustainable wildlife use may provide powerful incentives to conserve wildlife, and consequently it recommends that the people most directly involved should receive a fair share of the benefits derived from utilising wildlife resources. Furthermore, in order to further these conservation-enhancing tendencies it is recommended that effort should be made to increase profits derived from using wildlife (World Wildlife Fund for Nature, 1993. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: Concepts, Issues, and Criteria. WWF International Position Paper, Gland, Switzerland).
Te Ohu Kai Moana is of the view that to examine indigenous and coastal people’s use of whale species on a nutritional needs basis alone is an arrogant and indefensible approach. The activity of sustainably using wildlife by indigenous peoples is one of their primary vehicles for the transmission of cultural knowledge from one generation to another. The ban on the sustainable harvest of wildlife severs the transmission of cultural knowledge and other ceremonial and economic rights. Clearly the need for indigenous peoples to sustainably harvest wildlife goes much deeper that a nutritional need.
Very few of the 80 species of cetaceans are truly endangered, and none of the half dozen species that are endangered are subject to hunting. For instance, the population of the grey whale is currently estimated at 21-23,000, the Makah wish to harvest five of that stock.
Te Ohu Kai Moana recommends that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: