Te Kaupapa Mātauranga Toene Īnanga ā-Motu | National Īnanga Spawning Programme | NĪSP
Introduction
Overall, native fish populations in New Zealand are in decline. Part of the problem is the damage we have done to the spawning habitat of īnanga, the species that makes up over 90% of the whitebait catch. Unfortunately, the habitat needed for their eggs to survive is often damaged or absent. Less eggs = less īnanga! Likewise, introduced predators (particularly trout) eat lots of the adults and change their behaviour, meaning the īnanga are not so successful at foraging for food.
Why do we care? Īnanga is an important food source for many creatures, including us! High biodiversity = healthy ecosystem = everyone has lots to eat! Furthermore, many of the simple actions that can be taken to improve things for īnanga, can also improve the overall quality of the water in our local environments, making it healthier for us to live by them and use them recreationally.
Te Kaupapa Mātauranga Toene Īnanga ā-Motu /The National Īnanga Spawning Programme (NĪSP) was created in 2016 by the Whitebait Connection (WBC) and offers opportunities for local decision-making, community involvement, freshwater research and monitoring, to give understanding and inspire and empower community into action. The NĪSP provides a comprehensive set of resources created to support teachers and students to learn more about īnanga and how to find, monitor and restore their spawning grounds.
The NĪSP was designed to be delivered alongside the Whitebait Connection’s Investigating Freshwater Inquiry Framework that has stages of learning and links to suggested teaching and learning experiences which support inquiry into freshwater environments. The NĪSP is designed to be used in all levels of the curriculum by teachers and environmental educators, but can also be offered as a stand-alone resource for groups wanting to get stuck in and needing expertise advice.
Background
The main reason for carrying out this project was that students and community members around NZ seemed to be becoming more and more aware that there were issues with their local waterways, but weren’t often involved in the on-the-ground practical science that identifies, quantifies and remedies these issues. We saw that as an opportunity lost – an
opportunity to engage the community in meaningful field work and involve them in the restoration planning and action.
The result would be a more connected, aware and engaged public, improved whitebait spawning habitat and data on where the sites are, improved water quality and biodiversity corridors, and a set of comprehensive new supporting resources for iwi, educators, schools, community groups, Kura Māori and early childhood centres. We saw through delivery of our pilot project in 2016, that there was indeed a real need for this programme of work, due to the interest it sparked, and the demand we were experiencing in mentoring and supporting other groups to get involved. We acknowledge in an ideal world we could be mentoring and guiding groups through this whole process, but that we (and similar organisations) cannot be everywhere all the time, and if we can develop resources that meet the needs of these groups we can ensure long-term viability of this programme of work across a broader spectrum of community, especially those that are hard to reach and often not involved in science and technology.
This is a truly innovative project that uses best practice ground-breaking scientific techniques that are sure to excite and engage groups who have fewer opportunities to be involved with science and technology. The scope of the project broadens participants’ abilities to engage with science and technology in both a local and national level thus promoting the relevance of it within their own lives, as well as others. This empowers them to take part in the societal debates around freshwater management issues facing NZ as well as directly take part in tackling the issues head on and be involved in the technology that will mitigate these issues moving forward.
The development of this resource has involved expert training sessions and collaborative input from and with Īnanga spawning site experts such as Dr. Michael Hickford, Kim Jones and EOS Ecology.
Vision
A more connected, aware and engaged public, improved whitebait spawning habitat and data on where they are, improved water quality and biodiversity corridors, and a set of comprehensive new supporting resources for iwi, educators, schools, community groups, Kura Māori and early childhood centres.
Goals
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Empowered kaitiaki. Connected, aware and engaged public.
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Improved whitebait spawning and adult habitat.
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Improved water quality and biodiversity corridors
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WBC Coordinators will offer scientific vigour throughout the process and training will be provided to them by way of MTSCT’s national wananga, training/evaluation visits, peer review forms and online training videos.
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Upload of all data onto our National Īnanga Spawning database (data on where the spawning sites and fish are as well as the groups engaged in the project).
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Ensure that a Māori worldview is incorporated into programme delivery, by working alongside Kaiako and iwi/hapū, and that all cultural considerations are addressed.
Contributors
Dr. Michael Hickford – Marine Education Research Group (MERG), University of Canterbury (UOC)
EOS Ecology
Kirsty Brennan, Bronwyn Gay, Shelley McMurtrie, Nick Hempston and Erron Henderson
Mountains To Sea Wellington (MTSW)
Te Kawa Tangata Gordon Robb, Zoe Studd, Sarah Neighbours, Elizabeth Gibson
Mountains To Sea Conservation Trust (MTSCT)
Kim Jones, Nicki Wakefield, Soozee McIntyre, Natalie Blandford,Jordan MacDonald, Sophie Tweddle
Nga Mahi Te Taiao (NMTT)
Murray Palmer and Amy Hardy
Acknowledgements
Department of Conservation (DOC)
Auckland Council
Landcare Trust
Southern Trust
Foundation North
Feedback
We would love to hear your feedback on how you are using these resources! Please let us know and share your stories with us. It helps us to continually improve what we do and create more of what works!
Kim Jones
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