Sea farming in iwi sights

By IRENE CHAPPLE and SIMON COLLINS

Iwi are preparing to fight for rights over aquaculture farming areas in a claim reminiscent of the multi-million-dollar commercial fisheries settlement that took more than a decade to resolve.

The claims, which follow a sympathetic Waitangi Tribunal report, are likely to centre on Maori being guaranteed access to a percentage of newly created aquaculture management areas, also known as AMAs. At least one iwi also believes Maori may have rights over existing marine farms.

The aquaculture industry, seen as the rising star of the fishing sector, has sales of $210 million annually.

Under pending legislation, marine farming areas are likely to be tendered for after suitable management areas are designated by regional councils.

If Maori were granted guaranteed rights over the areas, it would be a significant financial boost for the iwi involved.

The claim has echoes of the fisheries settlement, which was finally concluded last year after 10 years of litigation and dissent.

Shane Jones, Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission chairman and architect of last year's fisheries allocation model, says: "The Maori claim is that we have a proprietorial interest in the coastal resource that is being tendered.

"That interest may be satisfied in one of two ways. Either 20 per cent of the funds earned are dedicated to Maori development, or 20 per cent of the space is held for Maori development purposes in the same ways as the [fishing quota] was divided up."

The 20 per cent figure has been taken from the latter part of the fisheries settlement, the so-called Sealord deal of 1992, when Maori were granted rights over 20 per cent of new species under the quota system.

But Kirsty Woods, Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission senior policy analyst, says there is as yet no official line on a co-ordinated Maori claim.

While Jones' idea is echoed by other iwi, others believe 20 per cent is too little.

The idea of guaranteed access to 20 per cent of the areas for Maori was first raised when the legislative reforms were initiated more than two years ago, said Woods.

When the reform package was announced it was challenged through the Waitangi Tribunal for not recognising Maori rights.

In a report soon to be published, the tribunal found the Crown had breached four treaty principles and given insufficient regard to Maori interests.

Woods said the commission's present role was trying to develop a unified approach from Maori.

Former politician Tutekawa Wyllie, of Gisborne's Ngai Tamanuhiri, is heading an iwi working group on the issue. He said the Government was attempting to push the reforms through and did not expect to be challenged by Maori.

He said the 20 per cent idea would work in only some areas, where there was still plenty of marine farming space.

When available space was already in use, Wyllie suggested the Crown should have first right of purchase on a "willing buyer-willing seller" basis, then use the waterspace to settle claims. "The least preferred option is compensation. That is not what Maori want. We want to get into the business because it is a more tangible way for Maori to participate in the economy."

The key to avoiding a repeat of the "fishing debacle", he said, was to ascertain the extent of the Maori claim then have a unified approach to satisfying it.

Chairman of the influential Ngati Kahungunu, Ngahiwi Tomoana, said fishing settlement formulas gave a basis that Maori should have 20 per cent of new management areas.

However, he also said there was a right over 10 per cent of existing marine farms - like the 10 per cent of existing quota that Maori were granted under the original fishing settlement.

Tomoana concedes that taking 10 per cent from existing farmers could be unfair, and argues for 30 per cent of new areas be granted to Maori.

Says Jones: "It's too early to tell whether the Crown has an appetite for pursuing the [20 per cent] strategy. The difficulty is I can't imagine the Crown being enthused at all in trying to resolve it on a piecemeal basis, because I think it's the regional councils that will have administrative responsibility. So it's going to be exceedingly complicated."

Woods said a commission report giving a "package" of ideas for consultation would be available within the next couple of weeks.

Fisheries Minister Pete Hodgson was unavailable for comment, but a spokesman for his office said there would be a series of hui in the second part of April.