ABSTRACT
As the original inhabitants of New Zealand, and the most adept and established fishers of New Zealand's water, Maori played a very important role in the early colonial history of fishing. The commercial trade in fish by Maori appears initially to have had the tacit approval of the Crown. Colonisation fragmented Maori communal ownership of land and resources, replacing it with individual ownership and an economy geared to commodity production for export. A number of small-scale Maori commercial fishers established operations, often combining fishing with another activity like commercial or subsistence farming. The huge casualties among Maori servicemen in World War Two also created economic pressures for the traditionally labour-intensive Maori farming systems due to a large reduction in available labour power. Good fortune smiled on the state by way of an opportunity that would supposedly appease Maori fisheries grievances.
