Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Will this Government calm the waters?
For the past six years my partner and I have been lucky enough to have an old Farr Moonshine yacht in Nelson Marina.
They say a boat is a wood-lined hole in the water into which you throw money. And while there’s a good degree of truth to that, New Zealanders are still blessed to have access to some great sailing waters and a plethora of great locally-made yachts from the 1970s/1980s heyday of our domestic boat building industry.
If you sail regularly in Tasman Bay or the Marlborough Sounds then you get fairly familiar with the fish and mussel farms that dot the waters; and the many families whose livelihoods depend on them.
On our first time doing a trans-Tasman crossing, before we fitted a chart plotter to the boat, we found ourselves in the middle of a massive mussel farm which certainly focuses one’s mind when you are dragging a 2m keel. But once we learnt a bit more about the various types of aquaculture set-ups and locations, we became pretty comfortable with them. They are great places to fish alongside if you are after terakihi or snapper.
New Zealand’s export markets also have become pretty comfortable with marine farms, with aquaculture exports having increased about 400% in the last 20 years.
Last year they delivered about
$600 million of export dollars, with the lion’s share being mussels followed by a rapidly growing salmon industry.
The high-quality product plus the benefits of a 100% pure brand persona for Aotearoa has proved a convincing offer for global consumers, particularly in parts of northern South-east Asia and Western Europe. Meanwhile our new free-trade agreement with the European Union specifically covers fish and seafood.
There are some 1200 marine farms across the country, about half in the Marlborough Sounds.
In 2015 around 65% of these farms had resource consents due to expire in December this year. Unsurprisingly, these businesses are keen to get some surety and have new consents issued so they can invest for the future.
Let’s take Marlborough as a case study. From what I understand, of the 324 marine farms in the Marlborough region with consents that were expiring at the end of this year, the Marlborough District Council has been working steadily and processed around 220.
This leaves about 100 farms still to get clarity, across around 12 business (including two of the big players).
These marine farming businesses have until the end of next month to lodge their applications. The thing is there is no guarantee that their applications will be approved or even processed by the end of the year.
Included in this segment are the more disputed farms, including some spat catching, mussel and salmon farming operations, which may result in the consent having to be notified - which could see the process take a number of years.
Not so good if you are running a business and trying to work out if you will still have a going concern beyond this year.
This lack of clarity for the aquaculture industry is part of the reason for aquaculture being within the new Government’s agenda.
It featured in NZ First’s 2023 election manifesto, which sought to safeguard investment in aquaculture by proposing all marine farming permits be extended out to 2050. A proposal that was the subject of a stakeholder hui held by MPI a couple of months ago and would see the 25-year extension being automatic.
It’s also output 10 on the Government’s second-quarter action plan. The plan specially promises to introduce legislation to amend the RMA to clarify the application of the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management in relation to individual consents for freshwater, and to extend the duration of marine farm consents.
Both of which would be helpful to the aquaculture industry. But as of now any timing is unknown, except that the bill to amend the RMA is meant to be introduced into the House this month.
Given that will just be the draft form of the bill, it means it’s getting a bit tight for the final act to be in force before the end of this year. Particularly when there are environmental aspects that need to be considered.
Which means for 100-odd farms in the Marlborough Sounds there is much uncertainty, particularly for those that must fund future expansion plans off existing revenue streams.
One thing the coalition Government has brought with it is a common-sense approach to policy and red tape, and a wariness of regulation.
Common-sense in this context would be to give some assurance to the 100-odd marine farms left in the Sounds that they will be able to continue to operate and generate value to the regional and national economy, and enough information for the industry to plan for its future. That and a bit of speed by officials.
One of the key enablers to happy sailing is knowing the long-term marine forecast – which not only covers when to head out but also when the risks are just too high for any venturing at all.
Right now over there’s a big whack of marine farmers who are limited to an eight month forecast for a 20-year voyage. Time to get cracking on the forecast I reckon.