Putahitanga: the intersection of western science and matauranga Maori in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand's physical oceanography

Aotearoa New Zealand is a land and cultures surrounded by one of the planet's larger marine exclusive economic zones per capita. Understanding, living within and utilising this domain requires a well-developed knowledge of the physical oceanography - fate, provenance and transfer of ocean-water, material and energy. In the Aotearoa New Zealand context, understanding and utilising the environment through science also requires that Maori have a stake in the science and a pathway to connecting with their matauranga. The putahitanga (intersection) of matauranga Maori and western science perspectives brings challenges for implementation of the Vision Matauranga framework for physical oceanographic science. Here we discuss the drivers and key themes for the putahitanga and propose a mahere kaupapa/plan bound by: (i) climate, (ii) decolonisation, (iii) shared language, (iv) data sovereignty, and (v) developing a cohort who can lead the field in the coming decades.