A Customary Right or Wrong?

In 1992, the New Zealand government (the Crown) and the indigenous Maori tribes of Aotearoa New Zealand agreed to an historic treaty fisheries settlement. The fisheries settlement deal comprised of $150 million dollars and 20% of all NZ commercial quota species for Maori. But more importantly New Zealand Maori and the Crown agreed to draft and negotiate non-commercial customary fishing regulations to legalise the tribes indigenous traditional fishing practices. In 1998, the Fisheries Kaimoana Customary Fishing Regulations was promulgated into law. Through the regulations the Crown recognises that traditional fisheries are of importance to Maori and the Crowns treaty duty is to help recognise the use and management practices of Maori and provide scope for the protection of rangatiratanga (chiefly authority) in respect to traditional fisheries. Few modern nations in the world have attempted to incorporate traditional customary practices into a nation''s western legal framework. A decade on this study investigates the effects of the ‘Kaimoana Customary Fishing Regulations 1998'' on the sub- tribes of the Ngati Kahungunu people.