Mayor pleased with seafood farm talks

The Gisborne District Council has had a fruitful discussion with the organisers of an unlicensed aquaculture project on the East Coast, says mayor Meng Foon.

He said council representatives had met residents at Potaka, 17km east of Cape Runaway, to discuss local body requirements.

"We need to clarify who the concerned party is, the Potaka marae committee or the Ngati Waipu tribal authority."

The operators would have to apply for a building consent, and might also need land use and discharge consents, Mr Foon said.

The Potaka Marae aquaculture operation involves aquariums containing paua, kina, mussels and crayfish.

Mr Foon said building permits would ensure the building was safe for workers.

It was also important that any discharge - which would mainly be saltwater - did not affect the land or waterways.

"I was disturbed to hear that the discharge of saltwater, even though it was not toxic, was going to be into the nearby stream only 10m away.

"They need to be aware of the risks of mixing saltwater with fresh water, because that gave different dynamics and could adversely affect plant and marine life in the stream."

Mr Foon said the project's operators wanted to work with the council to achieve compliance.


National Union of Public Employees spokesman Martin Cooney said yesterday that the union had instructed fisheries officers to avoid all enforcement work relating to Potaka Marae, until they were given "an appropriate defensive capability".

Mr Cooney said four more aquaculture centres were planned for the marae.

"The local Maori community are quite open that they are challenging the Government over its interpretation of who owns the seabed and foreshore," he said.

The union had been asking the Fisheries Ministry for about six months to arm officers because of death threats and violence they faced in their job.

A spokesman for Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope said the minister was expecting a report on the Potaka Marae project this week.

- NZPA