Hon Marian Hobbs
Minister for the Environment

Summary

The Government has taken a number of decisions on reforms to enable aquaculture to increase its contribution to the national economy without adverse effects on the environment, the sustainable management regime for fisheries, or Treaty settlements.

The proposed changes to resource management and fisheries legislation will improve the coastal planning process and streamline the environmental assessment and allocation process for new marine farms.

To allow time for the necessary improvements to be made, there will be a two-year moratorium from November 28, 2001 on the granting of resource consents for new aquaculture developments.

The reform proposals

Improvements to the coastal planning regime for aquaculture

The Government will be:

• Changing the interface between the RMA and fisheries legislation so that regional councils are required to consider all environmental effects, including the impact that marine farming has on the aquatic environment and the use and sustainability of fisheries resources, when they are providing for aquaculture in RMA coastal plans

• Streamlining the application and environmental assessment process for new marine farms by providing a single-permit approval process to be operated under the RMA

• Providing regional councils with greater powers to manage and control the development of aquaculture by requiring marine farm developments to take place within clearly defined Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs)

• Providing regional councils with additional rule-making powers to deal with competition for coastal space by all activities, including the power to limit the amount of coastal space that can be applied for within an AMA

• Providing for regional councils to call tenders for the right to apply for coastal permits, including those for individual marine farm sites within each AMA, as the default mechanism for the allocation of coastal space

• Providing for regional councils to retain 50% of the tender money to provide appropriate planning incentives and for use in improving the management of the coastal marine area.

Recognition of existing fisheries rights holders

The Government will be:

• Retaining the existing legislative requirement that aquaculture development should not have an undue adverse effect on customary, recreational and commercial fishing, or place the 1992 settlement of Maori customary and commercial fisheries claims at risk.

• Repealing the existing marine farm permit system that is operated under the Fisheries Act 1983, and instead requiring MFish to participate in the RMA coastal permit application process by providing regional councils with an assessment of any undue adverse effects that aquaculture development may have on fishing.

• Providing in legislation for a trade-off between aquaculture interests and commercial fishing rights holders in circumstances where aquaculture development would have an undue adverse effect on commercial fishing rights.

Improving the fisheries compliance regime for aquaculture

The Government will be:

• Replacing the five separate fisheries compliance regimes that are currently in place for aquaculture with a single registration and compliance regime under the Fisheries Act 1996.

• Enabling marine farmers to retain wild spat of specified species that settle onto structures established within the marine farm area.

• Providing for the control of pests and disease on fish farms by use of the RMA and the Biosecurity Act 1993.

Transition of existing fish farming approvals into the new regime for aquaculture

The Government will be:

• Transferring all existing marine farm lease and licences granted under the Marine Farming Act 1971 into the new regime, by deeming them to be RMA coastal permits and registered fish farms under the Fisheries Act 1996.

• Providing for all deemed consent holders to continue for the balance of their current term plus 14 years, provided that the total term does not exceed 20 years.

• Providing all deemed consent holders with a single preferential right to apply for a new coastal permit for the sites they occupy once their existing consent expires - subject to the applicable regional coastal plan not prohibiting marine farming on those sites.

• Transferring all existing marine farm permits granted under the Fisheries Act 1983, and all freshwater fish farm licences granted under the Freshwater Fish Farming Regulations 1983, into the new regime by deeming them to be registered as fish farms under the Fisheries Act 1996.

• Providing for all existing spat catching permits granted under the Fisheries Act 1983 to continue in effect for the balance of their current term, which in all cases is a maximum of five years.

The moratorium

From November 28, 2001 there will be a two-year moratorium on the granting of resource consents for new aquaculture developments. During this two year period, no new applications for either a marine farm or for spat catching activities will be considered.

In recent years, marine farming in New Zealand's coastal waters has increased significantly. This activity can place significant pressure on the coastal environment. The future development of such a valuable resource needs to be managed carefully and the moratorium will allow much-needed planning to take place.

The moratorium is intended to prevent a further rush of new marine farm applications, which could pre-empt sensible and appropriate aquaculture management.

The moratorium will also reduce the risks of over-allocation of space for marine farming and of new marine farming ventures being approved in inappropriate coastal areas. Over-allocation could reduce the overall viability of marine farming, cause negative environmental impacts, and cause a lack of confidence in the planning process.

Process

A special piece of legislation - called the Marine Farming Moratorium Bill - will be introduced before the end of 2001 (taking effect from 28 November 2001).

The legislation will:

• Establish a nationwide moratorium for two years on coastal permit applications for aquaculture (including spat catching)

• Apply to all marine farming applications that have not yet received resource consent approval (with some limited exceptions)

The moratorium will prevent councils from processing any new coastal permit applications until new rules for coastal plans have been developed.

Specifically, the moratorium covers:

• consideration of new applications, including applications for extensions of an area already occupied, and

• consideration of existing applications for new coastal permits and extensions

The moratorium does not prevent an application being made to make changes to an existing marine farm, as long as the changes are confined to an existing site. Existing applications for marine farming that are in the process of being heard, or have advanced further through the process (including appeals) are not subject to the moratorium.

The moratorium is intended to last for two years, but councils may apply to the Minister of Conservation to have the moratorium lifted in their region (or specific parts of their region), if they believe the rules in their regional coastal plan - or rules they develop before the moratorium expires - adequately address marine farming issues.

This exception will ensure that where regional coastal plans deal with marine farming issues appropriately, further development can occur.

There will be no provision in the Bill for an extension of the moratorium.