June 18, 2024
Older fish farms escape environmental scrutiny
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Greens MP Huhana Lyndon says a bill extending permits for existing marine farms to 2050 will silence the voices of haukainga.
The bill was introduced under urgency this month and will affect about 1200 farms.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says it will remove a significant burden on the aquaculture industry, which includes a large Māori presence.
Ms Lyndon says about 300 resource consents were up for review next year, but iwi, hapū and communities will no longer be able to have a say.
“Many of them are pre-Resource Management Act, so they haven’t gone through the rigour of what current consenting processes are. So there’s deep worry within the kainga of this blanket extension without any review of resource consent at place in the takutai moana,” she says.