In a statement yesterday, the group said in 2017, Melvin Cain, Jasmine Stewart, Christian Fife, and Colin Topi lodged applications to the Court under section 98 of the Act.
The applicants represented descendants of the Kīhau, Topi, and Whāitiri whānau on behalf of all Ruapuke Island landowners.
Rick Fife, of the Topi whānau, said the decision confirmed the significant relationship whānau have to the Ruapuke Island Group, in Foveaux Strait.
Under the Act, Customary Marine Title recognised a group’s authority over a defined marine area based on ancestral connection, tikanga and exclusive use.
It does not create private ownership but instead affirms mana tuku iho - inherited authority - and provides legal standing to participate in decisions affecting the marine environment.
"Our application was about recognising the area that our whānau has used, protected and had authority over for generations.
"Today’s decision ensures that this mahi will continue, for the generations that follow," Mr Fife said.
Ailsa Cain, of the Kīhau whānau, said the application was carefully considered to reflect traditional and long-held uses of the islands and their surrounding waters and was deliberately more limited than the 12 nautical mile default.
"Today’s decision reaffirms something that has never been lost - our relationship with the water - and recognises what our kaumātua and tīpuna have always known."
The ruling also recognised that Ruapuke whānau had exclusively used and occupied the takutai moana since 1840, with no substantial interruption.
The Court emphasised that whānau had consistently demonstrated their mana and guardianship of the area through continued protection of biodiversity, management of the area’s fisheries and controlling access to the islands.
In its decision, the Court also invited the applicants to submit a draft order under section 109 of the Act, to formally give effect to the now-granted Customary Marine Title.
This would allow the group to have a say on resource consent applications, protect wāhi tapu and continue exercising its customary rights with legal recognition.
The takutai moana, or the common marine and coastal area, is the area starting from the mean high-tide mark, and ending 12 nautical miles out to sea, though the Ruapuke Island Group application area did not extend that far.
Amendments to the Act are currently sitting before Parliament, with the government having announced that these will be passed by October.
- Allied Media
