Plans to expand aquaculture operations in Tasman and Golden Bays have been set back by two to three more years. The interim High Court’s decision also requires a new round of consultation and potential litigation, all of which will determine the fate of tens of millions of dollars in potential income and hundreds of new jobs.
In the meantime, Parliament will soon tackle an aquaculture reform bill that may also influence the outcome of marine farming activities in the bays.
If the government approves expansion in the Tasman District Council's aquaculture management areas, access to scallops, oysters and wild finfish will be lost, reports The Nelson Mail.
The parties involved, including the country’s leading seafood firms, have a month to respond to the new decision.
"That means that the ministry now has to go back and re-do the entire decision," said counsel for the opponents of the expansion Tony Stallard.
The council proposed a total of 2,109 ha in the two bays, and the Ministry of Fisheries in 2008 approved 850 ha. Companies opposing the decision issued appeals and aquaculture firms asked for more space.
Representing the Challenger Group -- covering scallops, oysters and finfish -- Stallard has insisted since the first proposal in 1996 that growing aquaculture activities would hinder fishing practices.
Stallard’s clients are up against marine farmers Sanford, SMW Consortium -- including Sealord, Maclab and Westhaven Shellfish -- plus Marlborough Aquaculture.
Consulting economist Michael Copeland came up with a study last year to support the consortium's case. He argued that the direct and indirect impacts of the mussel industry in the region were an estimated NZD 383 million (USD 311.9 million) a year in output and 1,762 full-time jobs, with the scallop industry generating NZD 6 million (USD 4.9 million) and 28 full-time jobs.
The approval of another 1150 ha of mussel farming space would spawn about NZD 46 million (USD 37.5 million) a year and another 222 full-time jobs, while slashing the scallop catch by less than 3 tonnes of meatweight worth less than NZD 60,000 (USD 48,863), while eliminating less than one full-time job, he concluded.
Peter McCarthy, Ministry of Fisheries acting chief legal adviser, said the ministry is still pondering the impact of the court’s decision.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley said the second reading of the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill includes legislation to promote investment, lessen costs and uncertainty and guarantee managed growth within environmental limits.
In January, after acquiring Pacifica Seafoods, Sanford began ventures into two initiatives to help the aquaculture sector flourish.
In the Marlborough Sounds, fishers worry that the NZ government’s announcement of the end of a 10-year moratorium on aquaculture will wreak havoc on local ecosystems.