Ewen-Street Ian: Resource Management (Aquaculture Moratorium Extension) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Ewen-Street Ian: Resource Management (Aquaculture Moratorium Extension) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:616;Page:11649] 
IAN EWEN-STREET (Green) 
: 
 The Green Party supports the bill but we do not do so uncritically. We bear in mind of course that a couple of years ago the then Minister of Fisheries gave a categorical undertaking that the moratorium when it was initially put in place would be the only moratorium and that there would be no extension. I have yet to hear an apology from him or from his successor. 
There is no doubt that aquaculture is a very complex issue. It takes place in public open space. People who own marine farms seem to have the idea that in some way they own the public space in which they operate. They do not. But having said that marine farming is an important industry it is a good one for New Zealand and those people who have marine farms have the right to some certainty of tenure. They need to know that the investment they put into their marine farm will give them some financial return in the medium term certainly in the long term. On the other hand it is very clear that marine farming operates within biophysical limits. Mussels do not grow just because there is an enclosed area of water in which to grow them. They need a food supply. They need a nutrient supply. If we try to put more mussels into an area than the nutrient available to them then obviously those mussels will grow more slowly. The nutrient supply depends on both phytoplankton and zooplankton—in other words plant life and animal life in the sea. Some marine farms are advantaged in being upstream in tidal terms; others are disadvantaged by being downstream in tidal terms or by having big farms next door to them. It is clear therefore that there has to be a very clear plan for having aquaculture in our inshore waters that is of benefit to all farmers and to recreational users. 
So there is a conflict a creative tension going on all the time. We need to know for instance that all the farms will operate at least reasonably successfully. That is the whole idea of having aquaculture management areas. The regional councils have been tasked with the project of establishing aquaculture management areas— 
Phil Heatley 
: An impossible job. 
IAN EWEN-STREET 
: It is an impossible job. It is a very difficult job but one that has to be done. We have to make some headway at least. We are trying to balance the tension between the certainty that marine farmers require for tenure in their marine farms with the availability of food supply the ecological sustainability of what is going on and the conflicting use from recreational users like boaties and recreational fisher people. 
It is very clear that the ecological impacts of marine farming are poorly understood. It is also clear that in the short term underneath the marine farm we get faeces and pseudo-faeces that accumulate on the seabed killing almost all other marine life. We do not know the long-term effects. If a marine farm subsequently is taken away what happens to the seabed? Does it recover without any problem? We simply do not know. Research needs to be done. It should be being done at the moment and I believe that some is. We need to know exactly what effects marine farms have on the marine environment. 
The Green Party supports the extension of the moratorium. In some ways it is good because it will enable research to be undertaken. Having said that I do feel a considerable degree of sympathy for those marine farmers who entered the industry in good faith but who are finding that the certainty they require for their industry is being questioned over and over again. As a number of other members have said the foreshore and seabed claims which are subject to public debate at the moment obviously have a great bearing on the future of the aquaculture industry as well. I do not think that regional councils will be very successful in terms of getting aquaculture management areas up and running in the time allotted. I rather suspect that before the end of this year as I think Gerry Eckhoff mentioned we will probably be back in the House debating a further extension to the moratorium legislation.