A waterfront filled with sound and colour
Mission Bay doesn’t often fall quiet, but at 10:45 this morning the usual waterfront pace was overtaken by something far louder and far more spirited. The One Ocean protest flotilla had arrived, rolling along the coast in a line of reportedly 400 vehicles that stretched so far back it took nearly two hours to pass.
The convoy began in Albany before running down the motorway, along past the Port, and out along Tamaki Drive to Mission Bay. Cars, utes and trucks towed an extraordinary mix of craft. There were trailer boats of every size, jet skis, kayaks, a couple of canoes lashed onto small trailers, and even a tinny with a motor that looked like it had seen more summers than the driver. Every one of them was part of a shared call for fairness on the Hauraki Gulf.
The mood was unmistakably upbeat. Horns blared in volleys. People waved flags, held signs, and grinned as they rolled past the packed footpaths. The energy from the participants was infectious. This wasn’t a quiet petition. It was a community declaring its presence.
Passion behind the protest
While the atmosphere felt festive, the motivation behind it was serious. Many of the signs focused on the proposed high protection zones in the Hauraki Gulf, where recreational fishers fear they will be locked out while commercial operators retain access. That imbalance, real or perceived, sits at the centre of the protest movement.
Among the boaties and fishers lining the waterfront, the message was consistent. If areas must be protected, then protection should apply to everyone. “No fishing means no fishing,” said several placards, held aloft by families who have fished these grounds for generations. This included commercial fishers as well: fishing for everyone in the HPA zones.
The organiser’s pre-drive briefing earlier in the day captured that sentiment. With safety rules covered and engines warming, one of the team remarked that it was a stunning day meant for being out on the water. The fact that so many people chose instead to join a roadside protest was, in their words, “a resounding message that something isn’t right.”
Auckland feels the impact
With hundreds of vehicles in the convoy, the effect on traffic was immediate and wide-reaching. Motorists along the waterfront slowed to watch the flotilla pass, some honking in support. Others stared in disbelief as the line of boats kept coming.
Once the head of the convoy reached Mission Bay, the group were to loop back toward Stanley Street, meaning Tamaki Drive’s lunchtime traffic was set for a challenging run. As the flotilla headed back toward the city, horns continued to echo along the waterfront.
For many onlookers, it was the sheer scale of the turnout that made the biggest impression. It is one thing to imagine frustration in the community. It is another to watch thousands of people choose to spend their morning demonstrating it.
