April 04, 2018
Aesthetic test dooms fish farms
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says changes may need to be made to the Resource Management Act if iwi are to make progress in aquaculture.
The Maori aquaculture settlement was designed to address a systemic imbalance in the amount of coastal space allocated to Maori, but there has been little development even when space has been identified.
Mr Jones, a former chair of Te Ohu Kaimoana Maori fisheries settlement trust, says many iwi are concerned at a recent Supreme Court judgment sets a high bar for fish farming.
"A concept called amenity value or aesthetic value has been elevated to such a point of primacy it’s going to be very difficult if not impossible in my view to expand the size of the aquaculture footprint, so I’ve alerted David Parker, the Environment Minister, of this. He’s looking at a work programmes in terms of future reform of the Resource Management Act," he says.
Mr Jones says one of the projects that could be affected is a Ngai Tahu plan for fish farms in southern Fiordland.
Copyright © 2018, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com