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Episode Structure

Flowing Like the Awa: Tuna Across Generations

In this episode, we explore the deep bonds between people and tuna, from an artist who shapes their movement in clay to a kaumātua's lifetime on the water — and the shared hope that these remarkable fish, and the knowledge they carry, will endure for generations to come.

Episode Summary

The episode follows Jamie's journey into the Wairarapa — "the glistening waters" — to explore the deep bonds between people and tuna across generations. Beginning at Sam Ludden's pottery studio, Jamie is invited to help create a tuna sculpture, learning how Sam captures the movement and life of these ancient fish through his art, shaping each line the way seaweed sways in the tide. Sam reveals how his passion stems from childhood memories of competing with his uncle and cousins over who could catch the biggest eel, and how the tuna became central to his identity as an artist. Now working for his iwi, Ngāti Kahungunu, he no longer makes a living from the sculptures, freeing him to return to the original reason he makes them — as a vehicle for telling stories and connecting people to the taiao.

Curious to see real tuna, Jamie and Sam travel to meet his uncle, kaumātua Matt — "the tuna man" — at a creek where eels have lived for generations. Watching the tuna gather in the shallows, Matt recalls his years as a commercial eel fisher, when the eels ran so thick you could walk across streams on top of them. He describes the sobering moment he realised the resource was depleted, and why recovery may now take generations. For Matt, that decline mirrors the story of his own people — and the hope that, like the tuna, what has been lost can return.

Through art and shared knowledge, the episode reveals how childhood inspiration and mātauranga handed down from elders transform into action that protects these remarkable fish. This whānau's connection to tuna will keep evolving — and through Sam’s mahi, that knowledge will keep flowing like the awa to the next generation.

Inspiration:

Manga maha, awa kotahi.
Many streams make the river.

Just as many streams come together to form a river, we each have a role in protecting and nurturing our taonga tuku iho. By caring for our awa, our tuna, and the natural world that sustains them, we help ensure these treasures endure for generations to come.

Ko te heke tuna, he heke rangatira.
The migration of the tuna is the journey of a chief.

Contributing Experts:

• Vanessa Tipoki - Tuna caretaker and advocate (expert input)

• Sam Ludden - Artist & cultural practitioner, Kahungunu ki Wairarapa

• Matt Paku - Former commercial eel fisher, cultural knowledge holder, Sam's uncle

• Zetta Karena& son Lennix - Site access to creek

References:

• Documentary Film makers & Film Productions. Watch Documentaries Online