Te Weehi v Regional Fisheries Officer (1986) 1 N.Z.L.R. 682

Category: Case Law
Sub Category:Case Law
Place:
State/Country:Aotearoa - New Zealand
Subject Matter:Recognition of Traditional Rights and Interests
Summary Information:
In Te Weehi v Regional Fisheries Officer, 'Te Weehi was charged with possessing undersized paua, contrary to the Fishing (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 1983. Section 88(2) of that Act provides that nothing in it shall affect ‘Maori fishing rights.’ Thus, as a defence, Te Weehi argued that he was taking shellfish in the customary Maori way for personal and family consumption. The shellfish were taken for immediate eating, and only on a small scale and that prior to collecting the paua he had obtained permission from a local Maori elder. Extensive evidence showed that there was a customary right for particular Maori to collect limited quantities of shellfish from beaches over which their tribe, or a tribe from which they had permission (as here) had control. Te Weehi successfully argued that the words of s 88 included not only rights to take fish embodied in other statutes, but also rights derived from the common law, including aboriginal title.' (Dorsett and Godden, 98).

Related Entries

Legislation
  • Fishing (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 1983 (NZ)
  • Case Law
  • R v Symonds (1847) N.Z.P.C.C. 387
  • Te Runanganui o Te Ika Whenua Inc Society v Attorney General [1994] 2 N.Z.L.R. 20
  • Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington [1877] 3 NZ Jur (NS) 72
  • Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board v Director-General of Conservation [1995] 3 N.Z.L.R. 553