Firm views on farm ban

By IRENE CHAPPLE

Environmental organisations and the aquaculture industry are fiercely divided over the Government proposal to impose a retrospective two-year ban on new marine farms.

Parliament's primary production select committee, which is considering the proposal, received almost 140 written submissions, with 82 submitters also asking to give oral evidence.

The committee will visit Auckland on Wednesday and the Marlborough Sounds on Friday to hear evidence of the effect of last year's ban on new marine farms.

Committee chairman Damien O'Connor said the submissions were evenly split over the ban. It was introduced late in November to avoid a stampede of applications prior to fisheries legislation being overhauled.

Mr O'Connor said environmental groups were generally in support of the two-year moratorium on new farms and the industry opposed it. However, most agreed that control was necessary.

The Seafood Industry Council spoke to the committee on Thursday. It said the moratorium was a heavy-handed, blunt instrument and asked for more flexibility in its application.

The council's policy manager, Nici Gibbs, said the legislation, as proposed, would halt all growth in the aquaculture industry.

The council asked that the bill be changed to allow regional councils more control over how and where the moratorium is applied in their region. This would allow councils to lift the moratorium for particular parts of their region, making it a more "purposeful, targeted tool," said Ms Gibbs.

Iwi groups are also strongly opposed to the blanket ban, saying 90 per cent of applications in the system were lodged by Maori interests. They say millions of dollars and thousands of jobs will be lost if the burgeoning aquaculture industry is stymied.

Mr O'Connor said the committee did not expect to make major amendments to the bill, but would listen to all submissions.