Legislative History
Below is a brief history on how aquaculture has been managed through legislation.
Current regime
On 1 October 2011 the aquaculture legislative reforms will come into effect. These changes are intended to foster environmentally sustainable aquaculture in New Zealand. The reforms make changes to the Aquaculture Reform (Repeals and Transitional Provisions) Act 2004, the Fisheries Act 1996, the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004, and the Resource Management Act 1991. The reforms will come into effect on 1 October 2011.
These legislative reforms provide a framework for the aquaculture industry. At the same time, the law maintains essential protections for the environment and balances aquaculture with other uses of the coastal space.
Previous regime
The previous regime governing marine aquaculture was introduced on 1 January 2005. the regime was introduced due to an increasing demand for aquaculture space.
The previous aquaculture legislative regime was intended to help regional councils and unitary authorities manage the increasing demand for space for aquaculture while still enabling the industry to develop. It introduced a requirement that aquaculture could only take place within aquaculture management areas (AMAs), and that these had to be identified in regional coastal plans after consultation with the public and marine farming industry.
Creating AMAs was a complex, lengthy and expensive process. The result was that, under the regulatory regime, very little additional water space was made available for aquaculture.
Moratorium on new aquaculture
In November 2001 the government put an immediate moratorium on new aquaculture applications until reforms could be put into place. That moratorium was extended under the Resource Management (Aquaculture Moratorium) Amendment Act 2002. Originally intended to be in place for two years, this moratorium was extended to 31 December 2004 to ensure aquaculture reform would be consistent with foreshore and seabed legislation.
Earlier legislative regimes
Prior to the moratorium and the introduction of the 2005 aquaculture legislation, marine farm applicants were required to obtain two types of permits from different government agencies in order to establish and operate a marine farm. The dual permitting system required applicants to first gain a resource consent under the Resource Management Act (1991) (RMA) from the relevant regional council (and depending how large the farm was, may have required approval from the Minister of Conservation), and then a permit from the Ministry of Fisheries under the Fisheries Act (1983). Many of the existing marine farms in New Zealand were approved under this dual permitting system.
Before the dual permitting system, marine farming was managed under the Marine Farming Act 1971, which was repealed by the new aquaculture legislation introduced on 1 January 2005, except for some transitional provisions.
In issuing a lease under the Marine Farming Act 1971, the assessment had to consider a number of matters, including the effect of the farm on navigation, commercial fishing, recreational or scientific use of the area, public interest and the interests of any adjoining land owner.
