Trust to protect moana

Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) has agreed to provide funding of $100,000 annually to support initiatives directly benefitting the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf.

Kelly Klink, of Protect Aotea, and Roger Gray, POAL’s chief executive, have established the Te Moananui o Toi Restoration Trust. 

It will be funded by the port for 15 years. It is designed to support projects that enhance and restore the mauri of the harbour and te Moananui o Toi, and provides scholarships for related postgraduate studies.

Klink, pictured with Gray, says: “While this isn’t the outcome that Protect Aotea had hoped for, this does provide Protect Aotea with the means and resources to fund research and projects that aim to protect and restore the mauri of the moana. 

“Ngati Rehua has always aimed to protect te Moananui o Toi as kaitiaki and mana moana of Aotea – Great Barrier Island. We will continue to do so through this trust, and the doors it will open financially and institutionally.”

POAL requires the deepening of the Rangitoto Channel for safe passage of larger ships to the port. 

Recognising there were concerns about disposing dredged materials from this work, the trust also includes a commitment to fund projects to monitor the disposal from a Matauranga Maori perspective. Restoration and protection of te Moananui o Toi will take generations and requires long-term commitment.

“I’m pleased to form the trust,” says Gray. “As one of the largest users of the Waitemata, we’re committed to ensuring we do our part to look after it. Restoration and protection of the gulf is not short term, and the port will be part of this work over the next 15 years.”