Aquaculture reform Questions and Answers (Paper 2) - Ministry of ...

Aquaculture reform Questions and Answers (Paper 2)
Updated 27 July 2010
What is the focus of the July 2010 decisions?
The July 2010 decisions focus on transitioning existing marine farms and applications to the
new regulatory regime, including how to achieve the reform objectives through regional
coastal plans. Key matters covered include:
• The transition to the new law of existing marine farms, the outstanding applications
lodged under previous law and the interim Aquaculture Management Areas in Tasman
and Waikato
• Amendments to the Tasman and Waikato regional coastal plans to enable applications
to be made for finfish farming
• New funding for Resource Management Act plan changes and related activities to
support sustainable aquaculture development
• Future progression of the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2)
• Planning and consenting issues, including allocation tools, and streamlined reconsenting
processes.
How much aquaculture space will be freed up by the reforms?
The reforms will enable most outstanding aquaculture applications to proceed and some
new applications to be made. Applicants will still need to apply for resource consent and
show their activities are acceptable in accordance with resource consent and Undue
Adverse Effects on Fishing (UAE) processes. The amount of new aquaculture space that
will be created will depend on the outcome of those processes, however:
• Allowing the processing of applications frozen by the 2001 moratorium that are not
located within interim Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs) or within areas
prohibited for aquaculture will create up to 8,066 hectares of new aquaculture space.
• Allowing the processing of the outstanding pre-moratorium aquaculture applications
to be completed will create up to 30 hectares of new aquaculture space.
• Completion of the Waikato interim AMA will create 520 hectares of aquaculture
space.
• Completion of the Tasman interim AMA will create between 850 hectares and 2000
hectares of aquaculture space, depending on the extent to which aquaculture
agreements with commercial fishers are established. This includes space that may
be created by allowing processing of the “Tasman” applications (also known as
“SMW type” applications) to proceed.
• Existing small farms in some parts of Waikato will be able to apply for an extension to
those farms.

How will existing farms be transitioned to the new law?
The deemed Aquaculture Management Area (AMA) status of existing farms will be removed
so they will revert to being resource consents only. This change will not affect the rights of
existing marine farmers. Re-consent applications from incumbent farmers will continue to be
considered before competing applications are considered. Undue Adverse Effects on
Fishing (UAE) tests will not be required for re-consenting or if the operations of the farm
change during the consented period, but the farm area remains the same.
What will happen to applications made under the old law that are still being
processed?
The interim Aquaculture Management Areas in Tasman and Waikato will be allowed to be
completed under the current (2004) law.
The Undue Adverse Effects on Fishing (UAE) test for the remaining pre-moratorium
applications will be streamlined by removing consideration of fisheries resources from the
test. This will bring the test for those applications into line with the way the test is now
applied.
All aquaculture applications frozen by the 2001 moratorium will be allowed to proceed (and
will be deemed to be lodged with councils on Day One of the new law), except:
• Frozen applications within the Waikato and Tasman interim Aquaculture
Management Areas (AMAs), which cannot proceed until those areas have been
completed as above
• Frozen applications located outside the areas currently allowed for aquaculture in the
relevant regional coastal plan.
The applications made outside AMAs in Tasman between 1 January 2005 and 9 May 2006,
due to a loophole in the law that has since been fixed (also known as “SMW-type”
applications), will be able to proceed on completion of the Tasman interim AMA.
What changes are being made to enable applications for farming of higher value
species such as finfish farming?
Changes will be made to the Tasman and Waikato regional coastal plans through the
Aquaculture Reform Bill to enable applications to be made for the farming of additional
species in both regions, and small extensions to existing farms in Waikato. The Ministry of
Fisheries will lead engagement with the Waikato and Tasman regional councils to develop
the detail of these plan changes, building on the work those councils have already done.
What funding support will be provided to achieve the reform objectives through
regional coastal plans?
Cabinet has agreed in principle that additional funding for plan changes and related activity
will be provided by new funding to the Ministry of Fisheries. The funding will be administered

y the aquaculture business unit. Considerably more than half of the funding will be
available on a grants basis to local government to support changes to regional coastal plans
to enable sustainable aquaculture development. Other funding options, including an
industry levy, coastal occupation charging and rating have been considered, but are not
currently being progressed.
Is the government planning to introduce a levy on new marine farms?
No. There are no plans to introduce a levy on marine farms. The introduction of a levy was
proposed by the Aquaculture Technical Advisory Group and is one of a number of funding
options that was considered by Cabinet, but is not being progressed.
What is happening with the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill No 2?
Cabinet’s decision to remove the requirement for aquaculture to be located within
Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs) means that much of the content of the Aquaculture
Legislation Amendment Bill No 2 is redundant. The following parts of this Bill remain relevant
and will be incorporated into the wider Aquaculture Reform Bill:
• Remove environmental monitoring from the definition of aquaculture activities
• Provide for the ability to negotiate aquaculture agreements in respect of old law
applications (pre-2004)
• Extend the period to review conditions on approvals under the old law to enable the
completion of transition processes provided for by the 2004 reforms
• Extend the period for consent holders to apply to the council for an off-site farm review
• Enable off-site farm reviews in areas otherwise prohibited for aquaculture
• Extend the period of marine farm leases subject to forfeiture action in Waikare Inlet
• Defer the requirement for regional coastal plans or proposed regional coastal plans to
include a statement on coastal occupation charges
• Enable legislative recognition of agreements between iwi and aquaculture applicants on
representative space in respect of interim AMAs.
How will the reforms provide for experimental aquaculture?
There will be no barrier to applying for resource consents for experimental aquaculture under
the new regime, subject to the relevant regional coastal plan provisions. Integration and
streamlining of the Undue Adverse Effects on Fishing (UAE) test with the Resource
Management Act resource consent process will reduce the costs of and timeframes for
applying for space.
What tools will councils be able to use to manage high and/or competing demand in
the coastal marine area?
Cabinet has agreed to create a power enabling the Minister of Conservation (in consultation
with the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Minister for the Environment) to
specify the detail of allocation tools that councils can use to manage demand in the coastal
marine area without needing to write them into regional coastal plans. Officials will engage
with regional councils to determine which allocation tools would be useful and whether they

should be set out in regulations, a National Environmental Standard, or another appropriate
vehicle. Councils will be able to choose which, if, any, tools to adopt.
This proposal will enable councils to take a more controlled, strategic or integrated approach
than “first in first served” to managing demand in the coastal marine area. At present,
councils can do this only through a plan change, which could not be in place by Day One of
the new aquaculture law.
What has been done to streamline the process for re-consenting marine farms?
In March, Cabinet agreed to create a simplified, streamlined process for re-consenting
aquaculture activities (where the applicant is seeking a consent for the same activity
previously consented) that constrains the information the applicant must provide.
In July, Cabinet agreed that in addition to the above, councils will be required to consider the
value of the investment that an existing consent holder has made and its record, irrespective
of whether a competing application has been made for the same space. Councils will still be
required to consider all other relevant matters under the Resource Management Act.
Are there further opportunities for input?
There will be more opportunities for input during the select committee process once
legislation has been introduced.
What happens next?
The government expects to introduce amending aquaculture legislation later this year with
enactment in early 2011.
A further Cabinet paper will make recommendations on the implementation of the Māori
Commercial Aquaculture Settlement under the new regime.
The government is committed to delivering the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement
under the new regulatory regime and will consult with iwi and relevant stakeholders on ways
this can be achieved.
Information on the proposed reforms will be added to the Ministry of Fisheries’ website,
www.fish.govt.nz, as the reform process progresses.