The Māori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement
Recently the government made changes to the way marine farming (aquaculture) is planned for and managed around New Zealand's coast.
The Waitangi Tribunal found these changes would breach principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, as it found "Māori have an interest in marine farming that forms part of the bundle of Māori rights in the coastal marine area". This created some uncertainty for marine farmers and council planners.
The government settled this uncertainty by providing iwi with the equivalent of 20 percent of marine farming water-space rights allocated on or after 21 September 1992. However, claims relating to marine farming space created before this will be addressed through the Treaty of Waitangi historical claims process.
This settlement was made after discussions with the Waitangi Tribunal claimants and the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission. The aquaculture settlement aimed to be consistent with the principles of the 1992 fisheries settlement.
