Executive Summary

This report sets out the Investigative Group's advice to the Minister for the Environment on options for implementing the Fiordland Marine Conservation Strategy (the strategy) as produced by the Guardians of Fiordland's Fisheries and Marine Environment Inc. Ministers agreed to the implementation being completed by September 2005.

The Investigative Group has analysed and further developed the elements of the strategy in order to assess options for an appropriate means to implement these. Seven sets of management measures have been developed for implementation. They are:

1. Fisheries

Commercial fishing:
- prohibit commercial fishing inside the habitat lines (habitat lines were identified by the Guardians as practical expressions of the boundaries of the inner and entrance/outer habitats for each fiord. As much as possible they have been placed at easily identified and marked locations).
Non-commercial fishing:
- modify species bag limits
- encourage harvesting to take place at the fiords entrances and along the outer coast
- prohibit accumulation of bag limits for some species
- provide for a temporary two year closure through regulation for blue cod in Milford and Doubtful Sounds
- restrict bulk harvesting methods.

2. Values of special significance

Two types of special areas are proposed in the Guardians' strategy - areas that are representative of Fiordland's marine environment ('representative areas') and 'china shops' which are small, discrete areas with special features.

Representative areas:
- establish appropriate protection tools for the eight identified representative areas including any china shops located within these representative areas or contiguous to them.
China shops not included in representative areas:
- establish a code of practice for the use of each area
- manage diving activities if the area is under threat from existing or future activities
- manage anchoring if the area is under threat from existing or future activities.

3. Risks to the marine environment

Establish codes of practice for hull-cleaning, identification of unwanted species and domestic ballast water exchange.
Establish a special taskforce to develop and implement a plan to address marine bio-invasion and other pest species specifically for Fiordland.
Produce educational material to help promote compliance with new and existing standards and codes of practice.
Continue to promote an integrated and co-operative approach by management agencies [Management agencies in the marine environment are currently the Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime Safety Authority, Ministry for the Environment, Environment Southland, Ngai Tahu, and the Department of Conservation.] to managing visitor numbers in Fiordland.

4. Expressing kaitiakitanga

Continue to recognise that Fiordland is a Statutory Acknowledgement Area (as defined in the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998), and the consultation requirements that this entails.
Ensure tangata tiaki continue to manage customary fisheries (as defined by the South Island Customary Fishing regulations).
Ensure taonga (as defined by the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act) are managed by tangata tiaki (including in representative areas).
Establish a convention for dual naming of important areas within Fiordland.
Ensure tangata whenua representation on any committee set up for the Fiordland area.

5. Information and monitoring

Ensure management agencies develop an integrated monitoring programme for analysing the state of the environment.
Ensure management agencies work with the Fiordland Marine Guardians when developing an integrated monitoring approach.
Develop indicators by which to measure the performance of marine management.

6. Implementing the strategy

Define the area over which the management measures will apply.
Implement the full package of management measures on a common start date, and by September 2005.
Disallowing new marine reserves applications (other than those agreed to in the strategy) until the strategy has been reviewed.
Establish and appoint the 'Fiordland Marine Guardians' to provide advice to the Government on the performance of marine management in Fiordland and to provide a forum for co-ordinating inter-agency work. The group will be independent of the current Guardians of Fiordland's fisheries and Marine Environment Inc.
Require a review of the performance of the management measures after five years.
Require management agencies to take into account the advice of the Fiordland Marine Guardians.

7. Compliance

Develop an integrated compliance approach for Fiordland to make effective use of limited compliance resources.
Ensure management agencies work with the Fiordland Marine Guardians and the National Marine Co-ordination Centre, when developing an integrated compliance approach.

The management measures not requiring legislative backing can be implemented by management agencies; however, the Investigative Group considered four options for implementing the management measures that do require legislative backing. It was agreed that whatever the preferred option for implementation, existing management measures and systems should be used wherever possible. The four options are:

Option A: Current legislation - use mechanisms already available under the Fisheries, Marine Reserves and Resource Management Acts
Option B: Comprehensive new legislation - enact new legislation that would apply in the Fiordland area only, and replace functions under the Fisheries, Marine Reserves and Resource Management Acts within that area
Option C: Amendments to current legislation - amend the Marine Reserves, Fisheries and Resource Management Acts to enable implementation of those specific management measures not currently provided for
Option D: Special legislation incorporating amendments to current legislation - enact special legislation that would provide recognition for the Fiordland marine area and enable implementation of those specific management measures not currently provided for.

Most of the management measures can be implemented through either non-statutory means or existing legislation. However, existing legislation does not provide the means to:

fast-track the creation of new marine reserves, and changes to the Environment Southland Coastal plan to meet the September 2005 deadline for implementation of all management measures
prevent the creation of new marine reserves other than those agreed to in the strategy
define the area over which management measures will apply
provide for the establishment and roles of an advisory committee, to be called the Fiordland Marine Guardians.

Preferred option

The Investigative Group's preference is for Option D which is special legislation incorporating specific provisions to recognise Fiordland's special marine environment and improve integration of planning and management. This would also involve some consequential amendments to current legislation.

Special legislation would:

recognise the special nature of the Fiordland marine environment
create the Fiordland Marine Guardians and define their role and functions
require each of the Acts and management agencies to take into account the advice of the Fiordland Marine Guardians
create the eight marine reserves and disallow further new marine reserves for five years
create changes to the Southland Regional Coastal Plan
define a boundary for the management measures in the Fiordland Area
recognise the purpose of integrating management in this special area.

Although Fisheries Regulations are not constrained by process or timetable and therefore special legislation would not need to be used to implement the fisheries management regulations, in order to provide a complete package of measures within the Bill, this option may be desirable.

Other measures that do not require legislative change, such as educating users, can also be achieved through existing mechanisms and processes, though additional resources will be required.

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