Mussel spat plans under fire
Keeping Wainui Bay as a primary spat catching area is crucial to the viability of the New Zealand aquaculture industry, mussel industry leaders say.
The Wainui Bay Spat Catching Group is seeking certainty for the future of the industry and has asked for a plan change to ensure mussel spat catching and holding can continue in the bay once the current plan period ends in 2024.
However, some residents oppose the change citing noise, lighting and environmental impacts.
The spat catching operation has existed for more than 35 years. Wainui is the highest contributing greenshell mussel spat catching site in New Zealand, providing up to a quarter of the national supply.
No new water space was being sought by the group, but it proposed rezoning the spat catching sites to a newly created zone – Aquaculture Management Area (AMA) 4-Wainui.
Within this zone, mussel spat catching and mussel spat holding would be deemed controlled activities as opposed to its present discretionary status.
Full mussel farming would be a prohibited activity at the site.
The application also requests increased operating hours from 6am and 8pm, with an allowance to work beyond these hours five times a year.
Longtime Wainui Bay mussel farmer Hika Rountree said the extra hours at night were necessary, particularly when there was a spike in spat numbers.
As the industry community liaison with Wainui Bay residents, Rountree said he was aware of only one complaint made about the spat catching operation.
A Tasman District Council panel hearing into the plan change proposal was held at the Takaka Fire Station on Monday.
Of the 19 submissions received only two supported the plan change outright. Those speaking against the plan change were largely split between keeping the discretionary activity status and requesting a larger level of environmental responsibility from aquaculture operators.
Wainui Bay resident Jill Foxwell said the noise and artificial lighting coming from the boats servicing the spat operation were ‘‘obscene’’ in such an area.
‘‘To give you an idea of what it’s like, imagine having a V8 running just down the road from you for a long period of time.’’
Other submitters such as the Friends of Golden Bay requested the plan remain as it is until 2024 as designated by an earlier Environment Court ruling in 2001.
Lawyer for the applicant Quentin Davies emphasised that in making their proposal the group were only planning for the life of the plan, which was set for renewal in 2024.
However, he said the group acknowledged the impact that mussels had on the amenity of neighbours and visitors to the area through placing additional environmental controls in the plan to better manage impacts.
When questioned by the panel about the increased use of hatchery spat in the future, NIWA scientist Dr Ken Grange believed that using a single genetic stock of wild spat was preferable to selectively bred varieties at this stage.
At the end of the hearing council policy planner Tania Bray conceded that some points raised by submitters, particularly in relation to lighting and noise controls, warranted further consideration.
Bray requested until August 26 to complete a staff assessment of feedback. The applicant will have until September 5 for a right of reply before the panel begins its deliberations.