Final Frontier Important For Future Generations

Food and Fibre Minister John Luxton said today New Zealand is one of the countries which benefits most under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Under the Convention New Zealand has until 2006 to establish the precise outer limits of the amount of ocean floor under its jurisdiction.

"Establishing that boundary will protect our rights to the resources of the seabed and subsoil for generations to come. The potential size of our seabed is 25-60% of the existing EEZ and between 3 and 9 times the size of New Zealand's landmass. That's roughly the size of Western Australia."

"There's a lot we don't know about the outer edge of the seabed. The seabed is the final frontier and it will be a voyage of discovery."

The project to define the Continental Shelf is currently being worked on by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and will involve marine survey work to provide further information for the claim. The work will provide a legal boundary for rights which New Zealand already has.

"The extent of these rights will be defined by this project. New Zealand territory extends to the 12 mile limit and we currently exercise sovereign rights to the resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf. The issue now is to define the actual boundary where the shelf meets the deep ocean."

Part of the process will need to take account of common boundaries between New Zealand and Australia, and possibly Tonga, Fiji and France (New Caledonia).

"The project is very exciting and the potential benefits are huge. Once the outer limits are successfully established, the extent of our seabed resources will be clear and available for future generations to come," Mr Luxton concluded.