Implementing the Fiordland Marine Conservation Strategy

Executive Summary

Introduction

The Fiordland Marine Conservation Strategy

Proposed Management Measures

Options for Implementing the Strategy

Conclusion: The Investigative Group's Preferred Implementation Option

Summary of Findings and Recommendations

Appendix 1: Terms of Reference for the Fiordland Marine Conservation Strategy Investigative Group

Appendix 2: Analysis of the Ability of Current Marine Legislation to Implement the Management Measures in the Strategy

Appendix 3: Fisheries Management

Appendix 4: Values of Special Significance

Appendix 5: Risks to the Marine Environment

Appendix 6: Expressing Kaitiakitanga (Stewardship)

Appendix 7: Information and Monitoring

Appendix 8: Implementing the Strategy

Appendix 9: Compliance and Enforcement

Proposed Management Measures

The identification of issues and objectives allowed the Guardians to take an overview of marine management in Fiordland. They identified a number of 'solutions' to improve current management. These 'solutions' are their proposed management measures.

Because it is the management measures that have the greatest impact on existing users, these were the focus of long and careful negotiation and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. Commercial and recreational fishers, Ngai Tahu, charter operators and environmental and community interests all endorsed the final package. The Guardians believe that keeping the negotiated balance is critical. They believe that should the negotiated balance be broken, the integrity of the entire approach (as advocated in their strategy) will be compromised. They believe that maintaining the balance and integrity of the package was crucial to retaining the confidence of the community in the process of implementing the various management measures. This would be particularly important over the first few years of the new management regime.

When reviewing the strategy, the Investigative Group noted that a number of the management measures needed to be clarified before implementation. Clarification of these has been possible with the help of the members of the Guardians on the Investigative Group, who in turn have liaised with the wider Guardians group. The Investigative Group has discussed and agreed changes to the strategy only where necessary for implementation purposes and has endeavoured to stay true to the essence of the Guardians' expectations.

Reference to 'the management measures' within this report refers to the management measures as clarified by the Investigative Group and summarised below. Appendices 3-9 provide more detail on the specific management measures proposed by the Guardians and any changes that the Investigative Group recommend.

The package of management measures [Definition: management actions that have a specific purpose.] now proposed by the Investigative Group is set out below.

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.

Values of special significance

Two types of special areas are suggested in the Guardians' strategy. These are areas that are representative of Fiordland's marine environment ('representative areas') and 'china shops' [China shops is a term used by the Guardians to describe small discrete areas that are considered to be outstanding for the abundance and/or diversity of mixed animal/plant communities or the abundance of particular animal species.] 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 and anchoring if the area is under threat from existing or future activities.

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 cooperative approach by management agencies to managing visitor numbers in Fiordland.

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.
• Continue to have tangata tiaki 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.

Information and monitoring [The Investigative Group have merged the management measures relating to information and monitoring the performance of the Strategy, this is discussed further in Appendix 7: Information and monitoring.]

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

Implementing the strategy

• Define the area over which the management measures will apply.
• Implement the management measures 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. This 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.

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 following sections of this paper outline options for implementing these management measures.