Fish Hook Summit Programme 10 June 2026
Welcome to the Ngāti Kahungunu Fish Hook Summit.
On 10 June 2026, around 200 people joined Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated at their 14th Fish Hook Summit to share an interest in this year’s Summit theme: “Resilience – Climate, People, Hoha.” This theme explores how we can strengthen our resilience in the face of the climate crisis, evolving policy and regulatory frameworks, and the ongoing challenges and frustrations arising from resource management reforms, while continuing to protect our taiao and communities.
This event provided an opportunity for whakaaro and feedback from across the six districts within the Kahungunu rohe. Environmental experts shared their knowledge, experiences, and the work they are undertaking to address these challenges. Guest speakers offered valuable insights from their research and discussed how we, as kaitiaki, can better manage our relationship with Papatūānuku to ensure the environment continues to sustain and nurture future generations.
We are very grateful for the knowledge and expertise of those individuals who presented at the Fish Hook Summit. The event was live-streamed and can be viewed in its entirety from the iwi Facebook page - Click here to view the live. In due course all presentations will be shared on our website in a PDF form.
Our natural environment provides not only the resources necessary for our physical wellbeing but also a deep connection to our tīpuna and the spiritual foundations of our existence. The health of our environment is inseparable from the health of our people. We carry a responsibility to preserve and protect our air, water, whenua, and the resources they hold, ensuring their abundance and wellbeing for ourselves, our tamariki, and our mokopuna.
Key takeaway points - Kotahitanga is needed. We need to focus on the connections between us and our whenua. We need one another to work together in hope for a better future.
Ngaio Tiuka
Director
Ngaio Tiuka is an environmental leader and policy specialist with extensive experience in natural resource management, freshwater and marine planning, and the protection of Māori environmental interests. As the Environmental Manager for Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, he works alongside whānau, hapū, iwi, councils, and government agencies to advance Māori aspirations for the sustainable management of land, water, fisheries, and other natural resources within the Ngāti Kahungunu rohe.
Ngaio is widely recognised for his advocacy of kaitiakitanga and the integration of mātauranga Māori into environmental decision-making. His work spans strategic policy development, resource management processes, climate adaptation, freshwater management, and environmental governance, with a strong focus on protecting the mauri of the natural environment for future generations. He has worked in the taiao sector for more than a decade and is a respected voice on the relationship between environmental health, cultural wellbeing, and tangata whenua rights and responsibilities.
Shade Smith
Senior Analyst
Shade Smith (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) is an environmental and marine scientist with more than 15 years of experience in freshwater, marine, and fisheries research. As a Senior Environmental Analyst with Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, he provides technical and strategic advice on environmental policy, resource management, fisheries, and ecosystem restoration, supporting the protection of Ngāti Kahungunu environmental interests.
Shade holds a Master of Science in Marine Science from the University of Auckland and has worked extensively in aquaculture, shellfish research, environmental impact assessment, and coastal and freshwater ecology. He is also a consultant marine scientist and has provided expert evidence in Resource Management Act and Environment Court proceedings on behalf of tangata whenua.
Passionate about kaitiakitanga and Indigenous-led environmental management, Shade advocates for the restoration of degraded ecosystems, the protection of mahinga kai, and the integration of mātauranga Māori and science to achieve sustainable resource management outcomes for future generations.
NKII Environment and Natural Resources Unit
Napier War Memorial Conference Centre,
MARINE PARADE, NAPIER
Wednesday 10th June 2026 – Facilitator Kiino Krystal
8:00 am Doors open – Registrations
8:40 am Karakia Timatanga
8:50 am Welcome / Housekeeping / Agenda
Taiao Updates from across Kahungunu (20mins)
9:00 am Te Whanganui-a-Orotū - Jonathan Dick
& Pereri King
9:25 am Te Wairoa - Katarina Kawana &
Michelle McIlroy
9:55 am MORNING TEA
10:30 am Guest Speaker - Mike Smith
Constitutional Climate Crisis
11:00 am Guest Speaker - Raihania Tipoki
Back to land, Climate Adaptation,
Mitigation and Opportunity
11:30 am Ngaio Tiuka and Shade Smith
Kahungunu Resilience
11:55 am Group Photo
12:00 pm LUNCH BREAK
1:00 pm Heretaunga - Marei Apatu & Stewart Whyte
1:25 pm Wairarapa - Anaru Te Rangiwhakaewa
1:50 pm Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua - Christina Marshall
2:15 pm Tamatea - Crystal Pekepo,
Matariki Makoare, Henare Kani
2:40 pm Guest Speaker - Pa Robert McGowan
Ka ora te whenua, Ka ora te Tangata
3:05 pm Karakia Whakakapi
This event was organised, managed and led by Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Taiao Directorate. Click here to learn more about the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Taiao Team and Initiatives.
Presentations will be shared in due course in PDF format.
Presenter Profiles
Katarina Kawana
Co-presenter for Wairoa Taiwhenua
Katarina Kawana (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tama Te Rangi, Ngāti Hingaanga, Ngāti Ruapani, Ngāi Tūhoe) is an environmental advocate and governance leader with expertise in iwi environmental management, freshwater and marine studies, and resource management, serving in leadership roles across regional environmental and Māori governance to advance kaitiakitanga, sustainable resource management, and community wellbeing.
Michelle McIlroy
Co-presenter for Wairoa Taiwhenua
Michelle McIlroy is a respected Wairoa leader, environmental advocate, and elected representative whose work focuses on protecting the natural environment, restoring the health of waterways, and ensuring that local communities have a strong voice in environmental decision-making. Deeply connected to Te Rohe o Te Wairoa and its people, she has become a prominent advocate for the restoration of wai (water) as both a cultural treasure and a vital environmental resource.
Crystal Pekepo
Co-presenter for Tamatea Taiwhenua
Crystal Pekepo-Ratu (Ngāti Vara, Ngāti Kahungunu) is a community researcher, facilitator, and social innovation practitioner with extensive experience in kaupapa Māori co-design, whānau development, and community-led initiatives, dedicated to empowering whānau and creating positive outcomes through mātauranga Māori and collaborative approaches.
Henare Kani
Co-presenter for Tamatea Taiwhenua
Henare Kani (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) is a respected Māori leader, cultural advocate, and Indigenous knowledge specialist who champions Indigenous data sovereignty, protection of taonga and cultural intellectual property, and the advancement of Māori wellbeing through kaupapa Māori leadership and community development
Kiino Krystal
MC - Facilitator
Crystal Edwards, Independent MC/Host, has been facilitating Kahungunu Conferences and Events for over 10 years. She brings a bilingual flow and a Kiino flamboyant flavour to our events. Crystal is also the the Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga representative on the NKII Board.
Hori Reti
Respected Chairman of the Te Whanganui-a-Orotū Taiwhenua
Hori represents Te Taiwhenua o Te Whangnaui A Orotu on the NKII Board. Respected Minister, Hori will open our event as a Tangata Whenua leader and lead us into the Te Whanganui-a-Orotū Presentation.
Pereri King
Co-presenter for Te Whanganui-a-Orotū Taiwhenua
Pereri King (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a Napier-based kaiwhakaako, storyteller, artist, and environmental advocate whose work is dedicated to reconnecting people with te taiao through mātauranga Māori, whakapapa, and pūrākau.
Jonathan Dick
Presenter for Te Whanganui-a-Orotū Taiwhenua
Jonathan Dick is a resource management and Māori development specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in environmental planning, fisheries management, and Treaty settlement processes, having held senior leadership roles within Ngāti Kahungunu and worked extensively to advance sustainable, iwi-led environmental and economic development.
Stewart Whyte
Co-presenter for Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga
Stewart Whyte (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga) Stewart Whyte, a professional based in Hastings, Hawke’s Bay, working as Te Manu Tāiko. He is committed to initiatives that strengthen and uplift whānau, iwi, and community, and is passionate about collaborating with others to achieve positive outcomes. Working under the guidance of Marei Apatu, Stewart is dedicated to supporting people, fostering encouragement, and contributing to meaningful and impactful work for the benefit of all.
Raihania Tipoki
Guest Speaker
Raihānia Tipoki (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Rongowhakaata, Ngā Uri Taniwha o Hinekōrako, Moriori) is a respected Māori leader, farmer, and advocate for Indigenous-led environmental and social transformation. Based in Wairarapa, Raihānia and his whānau are deeply involved in regenerative farming and the restoration of whenua through practices grounded in mātauranga Māori, whakapapa, and collective responsibility.
Robert McGowen
Guest Speaker
Robert (Pā Rōpata) McGowan QSM is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading authorities on rongoā Māori (traditional Māori healing), renowned for his lifelong work restoring and revitalising traditional Māori knowledge of native plants, medicine, and environmental stewardship. A former Catholic priest, he has spent more than three decades teaching, researching, and supporting Māori communities to reconnect with traditional healing practices and mātauranga Māori.
Mike Smith
Guest Speaker
Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) is one of Aotearoa’s most respected Māori environmental and climate justice advocates. For several decades, he has challenged governments and major industries to confront the realities of the climate crisis, environmental degradation, and the impacts these have on whenua, moana, and tangata. Mike is a member of the Iwi Chairs Forum Climate Change Working Group and is widely recognised for weaving together mātauranga Māori and climate science to build Māori-led responses to climate change. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to kaitiakitanga, Indigenous rights, and intergenerational resilience.
Fish Summit 2026 Gallery
Matariki Makoare
Co-presenter for Tamatea Taiwhenua
Matariki Makoare (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamatea, Ngāti Porou) is a Māori education and community development practitioner whose work focuses on advancing kaupapa Māori initiatives, strengthening whānau wellbeing, and fostering cultural resilience through the revitalisation of te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori, and community-led learning.
Christina Marshall
Presenter for Kahungunu ki Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua
Christina Marshall (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa) is a community development and iwi engagement leader with Tamaki Nui-a-Rua, dedicated to empowering whānau, strengthening community resilience, and supporting kaupapa that enhance cultural, environmental, and social wellbeing through collaborative Māori-led approaches.
Anaru Te Rangiwhakaewa
Presenter for Kahungunu ki Wairarapa
Anaru Te Rangiwhakaewa (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa), is the Founder and Director of Ahu Collective Charitable Trust and Ahu Collective Environmental, where he provides strategic leadership across social transformation, environmental delivery, and kaupapa-led enterprise.
With more than 13 years’ experience across addictions, mental health, justice, youth development, and education, Anaru’s leadership is grounded in lived experience, mātauranga Māori, and disciplined, impact-focused practice.
Marei Apatu
Co-presenter for Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga
Marei Apatu (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a respected leader, environmental advocate, and one of the longest-serving members of Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, with more than 35 years of dedicated service to the wellbeing of whānau, hapū, marae, and communities across Heretaunga. As Kaihautū, he has played a significant role in advancing Māori development, environmental stewardship, and community-led solutions.
He values kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga, and has spent decades working alongside marae, hapū, iwi, local authorities, and government agencies to protect and enhance the health of the environment and the people it sustains.
