Weekly column by Kāpiti Mayor K. Gurunathan
The whitebait season started on Sunday. In my previous life as a journalist I made a regular pilgrimage to the Waikanae River Estuary to talk to the whitebaiters.
An interesting collection of people spanning the community from the unemployed to the mechanic, from a real estate agent to a lawyer, and more. All hoping to catch a feed. Everyone was a winner because, even if the whitebait was not running, you got quality time communing with nature and the environment. It's a quirky Kiwi thing.
But whitebaiting at the Waikanae Estuary poses a problem. It's also the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve, which means it has the highest conservation protection. Despite that, it's the only such reserve where fishing is allowed. The reserve bylaw, managed by DoC, however, does not permit the driving of vehicles in the reserve. Something that has irked some whitebaiters who prefer to drive to the riverbank with their fishing gear and the indoor comfort of the car.
It's not just DoC - two other agencies also have parallel jurisdictions that ban vehicles in this sensitive ecological area. Greater Wellington Regional Council's Natural Resources Plan bans vehicles along the Coastal Marine Area unless you have a resource consent. Iwi who helped shape this plan consider the estuary an ecologically sensitive area. The KCDC is the third authority and its Beach Bylaw, which came into force in June, also bans vehicles in this area.