Why New Zealand’s Indigenous reconciliation process has failed to empower Māori fishers: Distributional, procedural, and recognition-based injustices

How is it that the New Zealand government’s process for re-establishing Indigenous fishing rights has failed to deliver thriving Māori fisheries? This paper examines why, at Te Waihora, a coastal lake, and site of one nation’s longest running best-funded state-Māori co-governance agreements, fishers have been unable use their support fishery. As 2018, lake’s culturally ecologically significant eel population was no longer commercially viable, decline attributed rampant dairy industry expansion upstream. Drawing on environmental justice literatures, we deploy multi-dimensional framework identify factors shaping possibilities in wake reconciliation, as experienced by fishers, scientists, leaders. We engage theories political economic relations interpret implications these experiences theory politics. Ethnographic accounts demonstrate falls short achieving distributional, procedural, recognition-based dimensions justice, effects are interlinked. In particular: (i) downstream placed bear disproportionate costs runoff from upstream land change; (ii) little influence over governance decisions affect use; (iii) government claims, including should, “move beyond grievance mode,” obscure logics resistance. suggest represents an attempt mitigate crises overaccumulation, characteristic competitive markets. Unlike those who persistent injustice logic turning away state, argue recurring nature crises, role state organizations play directing responses, indicates rationale continued engagement with governing bodies advance justice.