Environmental Performance
This area relates to reforms to improve the environmental performance of the fisheries sector, such as managing the impact of fishing on the environment and at-risk species, and the interactions of other activities with fisheries resources and habitats.
Current projects:
Oceans Policy
In the late 1990s it was recognised that there was both a lack of over arching goals for marine management and scope for improving the co-ordination and integration of marine policy development and implementation.
The development of an Oceans Policy was started in 2000, and the Ministry has been actively contributing to the project since then. In 2001, a Ministerial Advisory Committee consulted New Zealanders on their vision for oceans management in New Zealand. Since then, a range of discussions on how best to improve marine management have occurred with interested parties.
In December 2005, Cabinet agreed that Oceans Policy development should focus on fishing the most pressing problems in the short term, and put in place a long term programme to integrate overall marine management.
Work since then has focussed on improving the regulation of environmental effects in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In August 2007, the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) released a discussion paper seeking comment on a preferred legislative approach for management the impacts of activities in the EEZ. MfE developed the detail of this policy in late 2007 and early 2008, drawing on the feedback received from workshops and the submissions received on the discussion paper. A summary of the submissions is available on the MfE website, Improving Regulation of Environmental Effects in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone: Summary of Submissions. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/oceans/eez-summary-submissions-dec07/index.html
In June 2008, drafting began on an EEZ environmental effects Bill. More information can be found in the Cabinet paper: Proposal for Exclusive Economic Zone Environmental Effects Legislation http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/oceans/current-work/cabinet-paper-eez-effects-legislation.html. The drafting of this Bill is underway. It is likely that the Bill will be introduced later in 2009.
More information can be found on the MfE website: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/oceans/current-work/index.html
New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement
The Ministry has been contributing to the review by the Department of Conservation of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS). The NZCPS is a mandatory National Policy Statement prepared by the Minister of Conservation under the Resource Management Act. The current NZCPS dates back to 1994.
The purpose of the NZCPS is to promote the sustainable management of the natural and physical resources of the coastal environment, including land, foreshore, seabed and coastal waters from the high tide mark to the 12 nautical mile limit. Local authorities must give effect to the NZCPS in planning documents, and resource consent authorities must have regard to relevant provisions when considering consent applications.
A revised draft NZCPS was released for comment in early March 2008, with submissions closing in early May 2008. A Board of Inquiry has been appointed for the review and is expected to report shortly. For more information visit the Department of Conservation website http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=33968.
Environmental Certification of New Zealand Seafood
There is growing demand in New Zealand and internationally for sustainable fishing and aquaculture. It is anticipated that the need for seafood producers to guarantee their environmental performance will become increasingly important in the future.
New Zealand already has a good reputation for the sustainable management of our natural resources. But we now need to build on that reputation by becoming a world leader in providing accurate information about the management and performance of our fisheries.
The Ministry supports the use of independent, credible environmental certification or assessment programmes to enable the New Zealand seafood industry to respond to growing pressure for environmental sustainability and to improve the environmental performance of fishing and aquaculture.
The Ministry established a contestable fund to assist the seafood industry with the costs of seeking an independent environmental certification or assessment of their fisheries or aquaculture activities. Please click (http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Commercial/AGAVE.htm?&MSHiC=65001&L=10&W=environmental+certification+fund%20&Pre=%3Cspan%20class%3d'SearchHighlight'%3E&Post=%3C/span%3E) for more information on the Environmental Certification Fund.