Kaiwhakatere updates

Nau mai, haere mai te kaupeka o Raumati!

The arrival of Summer is the gentle hand of Hine Raumati, awakening the dormant warmth left behind by the retiring embrace of Takurua (winter). Hine Raumati dances over the whenua, her laughter the cicada's insistent song, urging us to shed the heavy cloak of the previous season and plunge into the bright waters of the present. 

Summers were a sacred time. We spent these golden days deeply immersed, basking in the glistening, crystalline waters that surrounded our home. The purpose of this immersion was to gather kaimoana (seafood), a practice central to our sustenance and cultural identity.

Our tools were simple yet ingenious: open woven kete (baskets). This design was no accident; it embodied a profound understanding of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge). The wide, purposeful weave was designed to be selective, a living mechanism of sustainable harvesting. We would joyfully catch the large, mature kaimoana, ensuring the bounty for the immediate future. Crucially, the small kaimoana would fall effortlessly through the open weave back into their environment. This method was a tangible expression of kaitiakitanga, our stewardship responsibility, ensuring the health and continuity of the marine ecosystem for generations to come.

It was a life lived in perfect harmony with the pulse of the natural world, every action governed by respect, reciprocity, and ancient knowledge.

My first year as Kaiwhakatere of the Waiheke Marine Project has been a profound journey of discovery and growth. Every step has been taken alongside my mentor, good friend, and blessed sister, Alice McSherry, whose wisdom and guidance have been invaluable.

Together, we embark on the intricate process of weaving threads of knowledge into a cohesive understanding of our marine environment. This involves diving deep into the wellspring of Matauranga Māori, seeking to understand the world through an indigenous lens—the holistic concepts, and the deep, whakapapa-based connection to the sea.

Simultaneously, we navigate the rigorous frameworks of Western Science, empirical research, and contemporary conservation methodologies. The convergence of these two knowledge systems is not without its challenges, but it is in this synthesis that the most robust and sustainable solutions for the Waiheke marine environment can be found.

Crucially, our work is grounded in the richness of stories from local citizens. The people of Waiheke—the fishers, the boaties, the long-term residents, and mana whenua—hold generations of accumulated observations and invaluable place-based knowledge.  By listening and learning from our community, we ensure that the Waiheke Marine Project is truly collaborative, reflective of local values, and effective in its mission to protect and restore our beautiful moana. This has been a year defined by shared learning, deep respect, and an enduring commitment to the health of our waters.

Leigh Takirau

Kaiwhakatere ~ Navigator

November 2025

Ngāti Pāoa ki Waiheke roopū kōrerorero

Over the past few months, we have been fortunate to have many of our Pāoa whānau on the motu to engage their babies into our youth snorkel programme. For 2 days over the summer months they have learnt to snorkel vast distances, duck dive and to gather kina to take back to the shore for their eagerly awaiting parents. Our Kelp Garden pipi have seen many of our whānau observe what once a kina barren, had now become a thriving ecosystem.

Waiheke Marine Project intern Emily Griffith (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato/Tainui, Kuki Airani) attended an Indigenous Kelp Alliance workshop in Santa Barbara California presenting initiatives that we within Waiheke Marine Project are actioning to regenerate seaweed. Our Kelp Gardeners co-ordinators also presented to a roopū of rangatahi/youth from around Aotearoa at a Blake Inspire Programme held at Te Māhurehure Marae. This was an opportunity to engage with our youth to hopefully inspire the next generation to understand the importance of our moana.

Our 5th Annual Koura Dive Survey from the end of May to mid June has now been completed, the final dive day took place on the 21st June. What a season this was!!! We had dedicated skippers every weekend, divers (including Ngāti Pāoa regen divers) always on the go with support from our dive support crew from Epic Scuba. None of this could have gone ahead without the amazing commitment and dedication from our 2 Koura Dive Survey co-ordinators Britney Jeffs and Isabella Penrose (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Maru). 

As always, we are focusing on growing Pāoa capacity on the island to reconnect and enable our ongoing kaitiakitanga responsibilities within the moana.

If you’re interested in this space, please get in touch at kaiwhakatere@waihekemarineproject.org

Leigh Takirau (NgāPuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Pāoa, Waikato/Tainui)
Kaiwhakatere ~ Co-Navigator