Aquaculture Allocation
Comments within an interim Environment Court decision have cast doubt on whether legislation promising Maori a 20 per cent allocation of new marine farm licenses is workable.
The interim decision, made last month, could result in three South Island iwi missing out on a share of 3000 hectares of aquaculture space yet to be opened for marine farming in Golden Bay . Some estimates have put a $60 million price tag on the share.
The ruling prompted the Minister of Fisheries Jim Anderton to raise the possibility of further reform to aquaculture laws if it becomes clear the legislation is ‘'seriously impeding” industry.
Failure to meet its obligation to allocate 20 percent of any new aquaculture management areas (AMAs) means the Government will have to pay compensation to Maori,the cost of which has been estimated at $250 million.
The Environment Court case was taken by the SMW Corporation, which was unhappy that the Tasman District Council (TDC) refused to accept its application for marine farming licenses in areas that have yet to be given AMA status in Golden Bay . Local iwi Ngati Tama, Ngati Rarua and Te Atiawa participated in the case to point out the flow-on implications for their Aquaculture Settlement interests.
The Environment Court focused on the narrow question of whether applications can be made in respect of the space in question, and its interim ruling was that there is nothing to stop such applications being made. However, that ruling has implications for the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act, which defines aquaculture space as either pre-existing (old) or new, because areas which have been ‘available for application' since the Act came into effect appear to fall outside both definitions.
The 20 percent deal only applies to new space, but the Environment Court's interim decision seems to put the TDC water space in a no-mans land – having neither new nor pre-existing status because it is part of a proposed district plan. If that is the case, iwi will not be entitled to 20 per cent of the areas as ‘new' space, or compensation in respect of it as pre-existing space.
The decision, if it becomes final, could therefore mean that Maori miss out completely in the TDC's region as will others with proposed plans at a similar stage of development.
In a separate case, Golden Bay Marine Farmers have applied to the High Court for a declaration that none of the aquaculture space provided for in the TDC Plan is 'new space', but the hearing of that case is being deferred until this Environment Court matter is finalised.
No new AMAs have been set up since the aquaculture legislation was passed in 2004 and the interim ruling has highlighted concerns by Maori that the legislation is unworkable.
Te Ohu Kaimoana is investigating whether or not there are other regional councils with proposed plans similar to TDC's and how far reaching the implications could be if the interim decision becomes final. A final decision by the Environment Court is due once further submissions requested by the Court have been received.
Meanwhile, Mr Anderton has suggested he wants more control over the allocation of new space for marine farms.
Mr Anderton told MPs that no new management areas had been set up and he appeared to blame local government and the industry for the slow progress.
He said he favoured more support through central government. He did not believe the legislation was unworkable, though there were “implementation issues” in the legislation.
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