traditional knowledge conference 2008 te tatau pounamu

Over this time the aquaculture industry in New Zealand has grown from reasonably small sites inthe Marlborough Sounds, Northland and the Coromandel Peninsula to one of the fastest growingcomponents of the New Zealand seafood industry. According to the Chief Executive of Ngāi TahuSeafood, this development has been too fast; there are now too many ventures growing green-shellmussels here in New Zealand and in places like Chile and South Australia, which makes it an extremelycompetitive and increasingly unprofitable market (Keene, 2007). In a competitive global market theindustry is looking to produce high-quality food as well as high-value products for the pharmaceuticaland neutricutical industries. A number of native species have been identified as possessing chemicalsthat have anti-cancer and other pharmaceutical benefits. To date, the emphasis on research foraquaculture has been the development of commercially viable products. Early in 2008, AquacultureNew Zealand (2008) put out its most recent draft research strategy with a focus on the four backbonesof growth: security, sustainability, efficiency and innovation. This research strategy is in turn mandatedwithin the Aquaculture Strategy.In the second half of 2008, the Ministry of Fisheries is also consulting on the Māori CommercialAquaculture Settlement plan (Ministry of Fisheries, 2008). The plan sets out details about how theCrown intends to comply with its pre-commencement space obligations to iwi by the end of 2014 andincludes the possibility of: space allocation, the purchase of existing aquaculture farms or payouts of thefinancial equivalent of the Crown’s settlement obligation. The consultation will allow iwi to expresstheir views on the plan at a time when many are also considering their options for entering intoaquaculture endeavours.Biotechnology and AquacultureMost New Zealand aquaculture currently focuses on mussels, salmon and oysters. To accelerate growththe aquaculture industry is diversifying into new species and new products. This has fuelled interest innew biotechnologies such as biopharming and genetic engineering, which may have applications for theaquaculture industry (FAO, 2006). Modern biotechnological advancement has wide applications forhuman activities that extend from the production of food to the management of diseases. A definition ofbiotechnology includes “the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing ofmaterial by biological agents, and the processing of biological materials to improve the quality of life,by isolating, modifying and synthesising the genetic instructions responsible for actual biologicalprocesses” (Statistics NZ, 2001). In the last 50 years we have seen rapid growth in technologicaladvancement, especially in biotechnology and genetic engineering. The impact of these newtechnologies, however, causes concern to many. There has been a call to better align new technologicaladvancements with societal values. This involves communities that may be affected by newtechnological advancements being better informed and having their concerns acknowledged byscientists and corporations (Cram, 2005; Royal Commission on Genetic Modification, 2001).Biopharming is when crops, plants or livestock are farmed to produce neutricuticals (or foodsupplements), and/or genetically engineered so that they produce pharmaceutical (or medicinal)substances that they would not have produced in their natural state. A New Zealand example ofbiopharming is the sea sponge, Mycale hentscheli, from Pelorus Sound, that has been found to havecancer fighting properties (peloruside A.) and has potential within the billion-dollar pharmaceuticalindustry (Handley, Page & Northcote, 2006). Our interest in biopharming—and the potential threat oropportunity it poses for Māori aquaculture business interests and aspirations quite apart from Māorikaitiakitanga responsibilities—lies in the role it might play in Māori decision making. This interestfollows on from our initial interest in genetic testing and its impact on Māori health decisions. Boththese research projects are introduced next, before we return to aquaculture and five themes that havearisen in our research so far.The Current Research ProgrammeThe present research is the second project in a Foundation for Research Science and Technology(FRST)-funded programme of research that examines Māori decision-making processes and thepotential impact of new technologies on the decision-making processes themselves as well as thedecisions that are made. The first project examined Māori decision making about new technologies in150