Manawatu River Accord

The NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers is disappointed that not all representative groups involved in the Manawatu River Accord could commit to an agreed stance on the way forward. Such actions are not helpful in uniting a region and its communities towards a common cause and coordinated actions

The Federation recognizes the Manawatu River system as an important freshwater and estuarine fishery, which provides both sport fishing and food harvesting to the local anglers, and is a significant source of revenue from other anglers who come to enjoy its fisheries.

The Federation also recognizes that, as a public resource, everyone has the ability to use the river for recreation, whether that is for swimming in summer, kayaking, fishing or whatever. Therefore, we all have a responsibility for contributing to cleaning up the river, so these activities can continue to be enjoyed by all, and by future generations. There will be costs involved in this, but they are costs that have accrued while the river has deteriorated. They will never be cheaper to address than right now.

We would hope that now most have committed to this accord, the reporting of its progress will be a much more open process, and not held behind closed doors as previously. We also hope to see a lot more factual information on the problems made public as part of the process of moving forward, and not degenerate into political blaming or gamesmanship.

We commend the participants of the accord on an excellent start, but realize that it is only a start. Unless a clear, inclusive public plan of action results from the accord, where all issues are addressed and results can be measured, we would have little faith in its success. We have seen accords before, and are mindful of Minister Carter’s reaction to the latest Clean Streams Accord results.

At the end of the day, we all want to see a healthy river system that we can pass on to our children to enjoy. The river has its own life and ecosystems that deserve our respect, not abuse. Damaging those damages us all. It is a public resource for all to enjoy, and treated with respect, will serve all who walk its banks or traverse its waters.

ENDS

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