Speech to the Maori Fisheries Conference

E nga waka, e nga mana, e nga reo, tena koutou katoa

Thank you for asking me to open your conference. I’d like to thank the Treaty Tribes Coalition and tangata whenua Te Tau Ihu.

I’d also like to thank Ngai Tahu and recognise the conference was originally scheduled for Christchurch. I know many of you have been, and continue to be,  directly affected by the Canterbury earthquakes.

In my role as Housing Minister, I have seen first-hand the damage to peoples lives yet the ability of Cantabrians to recognise the past, accept the present, and move to the future has been awe inspiring.

Today we have gathered to listen, deliberate, and provide input into the future of Māori management of fisheries.

The theme of the conference – “Te iti me te rahi – sea shells to Sea Lords” is particularly fitting because Māori play so many roles in fisheries.

Māori are customary, commercial and recreational fishers and at the centre of all these roles is their role as kaitiaki.

We meet in Nelson - a place that is well known for its connection to the sea. 

The biggest fishing port in Australasia is located here. The region continues to show its commitment to aquaculture, as demonstrated by the recent opening of the Glenhaven Aquaculture Centre earlier this year

Some good news for you. From an economic perspective, fish quota is now valued at more than $4 billion – a nearly 50% increase in value since 1996 ($2.7 billion). Māori control close to 37% of all NZ’s domestic fishing quota.

New Zealandcompanies are in a good position to capitalise on the growing global demand for sustainably fished and independently verified seafood.

Māori-owned companies are in an especially good place to take advantage of this demand. 

What’s good for Māori businesses is good for New Zealand businesses and collaboration and innovation are key to economic success.

This is a message that all New Zealanders need to hear. Innovation and the research that underpins it will continue to be an important point of difference in increasingly competitive international markets.

Through our Primary Growth Partnership initiative and other research initiatives we’re supporting many primary sectors in achieving that growth.

That includes a joint investment with the aquaculture industry through a Primary Growth Partnership project – a selective breeding programme for greenshell mussels – which could generate as much as $200 million per year to the New Zealand economy and provide up to 1100 new jobs.

Strategic direction of fisheries

As you know, there are many changes afoot. Within Government there is a strong impetus to achieve constructive change in the public sector. The merger of MFish and MAF is one such change.

Over time, the change will reduce duplication and operational costs, and a proportion of these savings will be passed to industry.

The merger is expected to deliver annual savings of $10 million a year from 2012/13, shared between government and the industries MAF and MFish work with.

The change will also allow for more integrated policy advice and increased capability engaging with Māori and our stakeholders across a wider set of their primary production activities and interests.

What won’t change, however, is our commitment to high-quality fisheries management.

The QMS remains the centrepiece of our fisheries management framework. The Government is confident that the QMS remains a fair and balanced approach to fisheries management.

Through the QMS New Zealand continues to be recognised for our well-managed and sustainable fisheries. There is always room for improvement, however, and we welcome your input.

Fisheries Plans

Acting CE Wayne McNee will provide an update on the Ministry of Fisheries work in this area, but I wanted to mention Iwi Fisheries Plans and Forum Fisheries Plans – which provide a contemporary expression of kaitiakitanga.

The South Island Forum Fisheries Plan and Chatham Island Iwi Plan should be up and running by 1 July this year.

Māori can use these plans to outline their fisheries objectives for stock-wide management and ensure their input into the national fisheries planning process is as effective as possible.

For example, iwi fisheries plans can help iwi advise me how they want to use customary tools, such as mātaitai reserves.

For about half of the current 25 mātaitai reserve applications, MFish is awaiting further information or instruction from applicant groups. Of the rest, the next step in the process is for MFish to assess the applications against the regulatory criteria and advise me.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture will become an increasingly important part of the seafood sector. This Government has made aquaculture development a top priority – it’s a very important part of our Economic Growth Agenda.

The Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No 3) has just had its second reading in Parliament. I am confident that when enacted the law reform will foster sustainable aquaculture and effectively support the industry’s $1 billion sales goal by 2025.

The Government is also on the look-out for additional ways to support aquaculture development. For example, late last year I asked a Ministerial Advisory Panel  to examine the potential to create a 300-hectare marine farming zone in the Coromandel.

The panel met with iwi, carried out a public consultation process, and reviewed scientific and economic information. I am now considering its report.

The Aquaculture Unit within the Ministry of Fisheries is busy building coordination between the groups involved in aquaculture, and talking with Māori and stakeholders to inform development of a national aquaculture strategy and action plan that includes both marine and land-based aquaculture.

It will cover projects to develop new space and species, and will also look into research and innovation, market development and iwi participation.

I want to underscore that the Government remains totally committed to upholding the aquaculture settlement.

The Aquaculture Bill enables the Crown’s settlement obligations to be delivered under the proposed new law. 

This can be done through the provision of either space in the coastal marine area or an agreed equivalent.  We have been working with iwi to ensure that the integrity of the settlement will be maintained. I am now in discussions with my colleagues about how best to deliver the obligations under the settlement.
 

Conclusion

Māori have many roles to play in fisheries management. In part because of this you have a profound understanding of the need to acknowledge the past, accept the present, and reach for the future.

Working together, we can build our businesses and our economy for the secure and sustainable future for Māori – and that’s good for all New Zealanders.

No reira tënä koutou, tënä koutou, tënä koutou katoa.