Rangatiratanga is a nodal discourse that subsumes a number of smaller discourses. This paper utilises critical discourse analysis to examine the emergent discourses of rangatiratanga within the context of Māori fisheries management. Three Tiriti o Waitangi translation texts and six Waitangi Tribunal texts relevant to fisheries were selected as the texts. The main conclusions are that there are multiple understandings of the discourses of rangatiratanga that allows for certain meanings and not others, and while the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi retain the spirit of the Treaty, the principles in fact limit and restrict the full authority of rangatiratanga that is guaranteed under the Treaty. It remains to be seen whether rangatiratanga that is provided in a Māori fisheries context allows for the myriad of understandings discussed in this paper.