Annex 2: Relationship between statutes managing effects of activities in the EEZ and territorial sea

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This diagram describes which statutes govern the management of environmental effects and resource allocation for the current range of activities being undertaken in the territorial sea and the Exclusive Economic Zone, indicating where there are gaps in the existing regulatory regime.

Marine protection is covered in the territorial sea by the Marine Reserves Act, and some Fisheries Act and Resource Management Act tools. In the Exclusive Economic Zone the Fisheries Act covers some aspects of resource allocation. There is no dedicated, comprehensive, high-level marine protection tool for environmental effects in the EEZ.

Resource allocation and the environmental effects of fisheries management is regulated in the territorial sea and EEZ by the Fisheries Act and Fisheries Settlement.

Resource allocation and the environmental effects of transport and marine pollution are regulated in the territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone by the Maritime Transport Act and the international law right of innocent passage.

For petroleum and minerals activities, resources are allocated under the Crown Minerals and Continental Shelf Acts. Environmental effects of these activities in the territorial sea are covered by the Resource Management Act. There is currently no provision for management of environmental effects of these activities in the EEZ.

In the territorial sea aquaculture is regulated by the Resource Management Act and the Aquaculture Settlement. The Fisheries Act may apply to aquaculture for allocation in the EEZ. There is currently no provision for management of the environmental effects of aquaculture in the EEZ.

Other new activities, e.g. tidal energy, are regulated by the Resource Management Act in the territorial sea. These activities and their environmental effects are currently unregulated in the Exclusive Economic Zone.

The diagram identifies the gap in regulation which the proposed EEZ environmental effects legislation should apply: the regulation of environmental effects in the Exclusive Economic Zone for petroleum and minerals activities, aquaculture, and new activities. For aquaculture and new activities, the regulatory gap marginally extends into the issue of resource allocation. The proposed EEZ environmental effects legislation will not address the gap of a dedicated marine protection tool for environmental effects. There also remains some gap in allocation of space for new activities in the EEZ.