Planning
The lead role in aquaculture planning lies with New Zealand's 12 regional councils and four unitary authorities. The Ministry of Fisheries contributes to this process by testing for any undue adverse effects on fishing.
In December 2004 the government introduced new Aquaculture Reform legislation. One of the key features of this new regulatory framework is that it puts into place a single authorisation process for aquaculture planning and consents under the Resource Management Act. Under the reforms, new aquaculture projects can now only be established within Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs). An AMA must be mapped and described in the regional coastal plan.
AMAs help ensure:
- prospective applicants know what space is allocated to marine farming
- ad hoc decisions are avoided as information about the possible effects (such as the impacts on the community, environment and economy) are sorted out at the beginning
- affected parties, including iwi and communities, get to have their say when the changes or variations to the regional coastal plan are proposed and tested. This means comment won't have to be made on every single application for a resource consent.
This planning process was established to make sure regional councils and unitary authorities can manage the increasing demand for marine space in a well-planned and controlled way. It also allows regions to balance the needs of the environment and the many different groups of people who use the coast and marine areas – recreational and commercial fishers, iwi, marine farmers, communities, other commercial users, boaties and others.
A closer look at the Resource Management Act
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) is one of New Zealand’s most significant environmental statutes. The purpose of the RMA is to promote sustainable management of natural and physical resources. The statutory regime covers a wide range of natural and physical resources, including activities in coastal marine areas.
Section 8 in the RMA relates to the Treaty of Waitangi, stating “In achieving the purpose of this Act, all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).”
The RMA also identifies a range of functions for decision-makers and establishes a hierarchy of standards, policy statements and plans. One national policy statement that may significantly influence aquaculture development is the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS).
For aquaculture the RMA requires a special planning process to create AMAs or to allow new aquaculture development in existing space. There are three ways that new AMAs can be established or existing AMAs extended.
| AMA Method |
Allocation implications |
| Council-initiated plan change | Up to 40% of new space may be set aside for iwi |
| Council-invited private plan change | Once 20% has been set aside for iwi, the council must allocate an authorisation for 80% of the approved AMA space to the person who requested the invited private plan change. |
| Standard private plan change | The person who requested the standard private plan change does not have any preferential access rights. Up to 40% set aside for iwi. |
Councils will refer all proposals for AMA plan changes to the Ministry of Fisheries to determine whether the project will put an undue adverse effect on commercial, customary or recreational fishing before any proposed plan change is notified. If an AMA passes the undue adverse effects test it may proceed through the plan change process to final approval by the Minister of Conservation.
If a plan change is successful and an AMA is established, before marine farming can begin, depending on the method of allocation chosen by the council, an authorisation may be required before resource consents must be applied for.
