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controlled and developed
carefully otherwise it could have a negative effect.
The main obstacle is the
conflict between several pieces of legislation. Stan
Crothers, Ministry of Fisheries Deputy Chief Executive and
chairperson of the joint management forum, said: "Two key
pieces of legislation, the Fisheries Act and the Resource
Management Act are meeting head on. There are clashes
between incompatible rights and the central and regional
government bureaucracies. The bottom line is that the legal
framework doesn’t provide for the sustainable and orderly
development of the aquaculture industry."
He pointed out that it was
this situation that led to the moratorium, which aimed to
give the industry time to move from the old to the new
regime.
To draft the new legislation
major government departments – Fisheries, Environment,
Conservation, Treasury and Te Puni Kokiri - have been
working together. "It is like a virtual government
department," continued Mr Crothers. "We manage it so the
process is seamless, and is not characterised by the turf
wars that inevitably go on in other cross-government
processes."
He added that there was also
excellent co-operation at the ministerial level.
The key points of the
aquaculture reform are:
- Aquaculture Management
Areas (AMA’s) will be established under the Resource
Management Act coastal plans. New aquaculture developments
will take place within these AMAs
- The process to establish
AMAs will require regional councils to consider all their
effects on the environment and other users.
One constraint on the
establishment of AMAs is that they should not put the
settlement of Maori customary and commercial fisheries
claims at risk. Another is that they should not undermine
the management regime New Zealand has established for its
fisheries.
Once the bill has passed
Parliament, the government agencies will work with regional
councils on an implementation strategy. This will involve
designing a process and computer system to make the reforms
happen. |
