This past week I have been busy expressing my pakake pride. On Thursday the 22nd I attended the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust’s annual AGM, where my new appointment was announced: Education Lead on the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust Board.
Yesterday I attended the New Zealand Sea Lion Annual Forum Hui alongside the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird, Otago Regional Council, Ministry of Fisheries, Rūnaka and Ngāi Tahu. Topics discussed included the New Zealand sea lion/pakake/whakahao Threat Management Plan for the next five years, sea lion conservation and education, Mātauranga Māori and the Vehicles on Beaches Bylaw, which will come into effect in the Clutha Region on the 1st of January 2023.
Pakake are a taonga species to many people in Aotearoa. Thank you for respecting them, giving them a wide birth, walking your dog on a leash, and walking opposed to driving on beaches.
Illustration: Jess at Maori_mermaid.