Top of the south iwi are demanding new aquaculture rules in Marlborough be withdrawn, with one claiming the consultation process came up so short it had the scent of a Treaty breach .
An artist s impression shows the proposed new rules, right, will force some mussel farms further into the Marlborough Sounds.
Photo: Supplied / Marlborough District Council
Five of the region s nine tangata whenua iwi have written to the Marlborough District Council astonished they were not adequately consulted before the rules were released in November, despite attempts to weigh in. The council says iwi were approached about the rules.
The aquaculture chapter of the Proposed Marlborough Environment Plan was originally shelved when the rest of the plan went out for feedback in 2016, as the council was not satisfied they would meet new government laws.
They were publicly notified on December 2 last year, opening them up for public feedback. A total of 113 submissions were made before the February 26 deadline. These were published on the council’s website. Submissions from top of the south iwi all argued they were not properly consulted.
CHLOE RANFORD/LDR
There are more than 590 marine farms in Marlborough. The five iwi to submit were Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira (Ngāi Toa), Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia,
Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui
, and Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu). Te Ohu Kaimoana, or the Māori Fisheries Trust, also made a submission.
The public consultation process closes on 26
February 2021.
Variations 1 (marine farming) and 1A
(finfish farming) to the environment plan were publicly
notified in early December. This came after two years of
work by the Marlborough Aquaculture Review Working Group
(MARWG). The MARWG included members of the marine farming
industry, Marlborough Sounds’ community organisations and
central government agencies. The Ministers of Fisheries,
Conservation, Environment and Transport, along with Te Tau
Ihu iwi were also consulted.
Planning, Finance &
Community Committee Chair Councillor Mark Peters encouraged
anyone with an interest in marine or finfish farming, or the
Marlborough Sounds, to make their views on the proposals
Swimmers, boaties muscle out Marlborough mussel farms in prime recreational spots
10 Jan, 2021 01:58 AM
5 minutes to read
There are about 590 marine farms in Marlborough. Photo / Chloe Ranford, LDR
Other
By Chloe Ranford, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans to free up prime swim spots in the Marlborough Sounds could force mussel farms further from shore.
Marine farmers will need to leave another swimming pool s worth of space between their farms and the shoreline under the region s new aquaculture rules, in what one report estimates will cost up to $3000 a farm.
The change is one of several proposed under the region s new aquaculture chapter, released in November, almost a year after the rest of the Marlborough District Council s new environment plan was published.
CHLOE RANFORD/LDR
The final chapter in Marlborough s new environment plan was released last month, almost a year after the rest.
Plans to free up prime swim spots in the Marlborough Sounds could force mussel farms further from shore. Marine farmers will need to leave another swimming pool’s worth of space between their farms and the shoreline under the region s new aquaculture rules, in what one report estimates will cost up to $3000 a farm. The change is one of several proposed under the region’s new aquaculture chapter, released in November, almost a year after the rest of the Marlborough District Council’s new environment plan was published.