The Moana Project Braids Tradition and Science for a More Sustainable Ocean [Video]

Aotearoa New Zealand has been inhabited since the first settlers arrived in voyaging canoes between 1250 and 1300 CE. Wayfinding based on Traditional Knowledge of navigation guided them, and the prevailing winds and currents propelled them.

These settlers, the Māori people, found food in abundance around the coast and built kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection) practices rooted in the deep identification of the Māori with the ocean. They established traditional management of marine resources using rāhui (bans) and tapu (restrictions). These bans and restrictions control when fish and shellfish species may be harvested, for example, to avoid overfishing and damaging or polluting fishing areas with human waste.

Today, Aotearoa New Zealand leans on the ocean as a major source of wealth and well-being while also honoring traditional and cultural practices. Members of the Māori community own about half of the country’s …