Context of the Project
This section of the report sets out the history of the project, provides a brief outline of New Zealand's jurisdiction in the EEZ under international law, and discusses the current level of activity in the EEZ.
History
In 1996 the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's report Environmental Management of Petroleum and Mineral Mining Activities beyond the 12-mile Limit identified problems with environmental management in the EEZ. The report noted that management of petroleum and mineral mining activities from 12 to 200 nautical miles does not include adequate procedures for the assessment of environmental effects, the setting and enforcement of environmental conditions, or public consultation.
In 2000 the Oceans Policy Process was initiated, one of whose goals is to ensure integrated and consistent management of the oceans within New Zealand's jurisdiction. Stage 2 of the Oceans Policy process included a review of marine legislation, which was carried out in 2002/03. [See Oceans Policy Secretariat 2002.] The review identified that there is no consistent or clearly understood process for the assessment of environmental effects for the full range of activities undertaken in New Zealand's EEZ. A range of agencies have responsibilities for granting permission for particular activities in the EEZ; some assess and monitor certain types of environmental effects, while others do not consider these effects at all.
New Zealand's jurisdiction in the EEZ under international law
New Zealand's jurisdiction in the EEZ (from 12 to 200 nautical miles) is more limited than the jurisdiction that we have in our territorial sea, which runs from the shore to 12 nautical miles. New Zealand has full 'sovereignty' over its territorial sea, including full sovereignty over New Zealand vessels and New Zealanders in the territorial sea. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) recognises and reflects the limits on New Zealand's sovereignty regarding the passage of foreign ships, and the sovereign immunity of warships and non-commercial government vessels.
In the EEZ, New Zealand has 'sovereign rights' - a more limited jurisdiction than sovereignty - for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources of the waters, seabed and subsoil. It also has 'jurisdiction' with regard to the establishment of artificial islands, installations and structures and marine scientific research. New Zealand's sovereign rights to exploit the natural resources in the EEZ must be undertaken pursuant to New Zealand's environmental policies and in accordance with New Zealand's duty to protect and preserve the marine environment. New Zealand must also have due regard to the rights of other states. Other states have certain freedoms, including navigation, overflight and laying cables in the EEZ.
Current activities in the EEZ
Part of the project is to understand what level of activity is currently occurring in the EEZ. The activities currently operating in the EEZ can be categorised under:
- shipping
- petroleum activities (including prospecting and extraction)
- laying and maintenance of submarine cables and pipelines
- fishing
- scientific research (biological and non-biological)
- dumping of waste
- prospecting for minerals. [The other current activity that has been identified is defence, but this is not covered in this report due to a lack of obtainable information on the nature and scale of the activity.]
The current level of activity in these industries is described below. [Data obtained from Centre for Advanced Engineering 2003.]
Shipping
Despite advances in other forms of transport, shipping remains a relatively inexpensive and efficient method for large-volume goods. Almost 85% of New Zealand exports by value (99% by volume) are carried by sea, while imports account for 75% by value (also 99% by volume). There is, however, a trend towards larger vessels and therefore a reduction in the number of ship visits.
Petroleum
Offshore hydrocarbon exploration began in New Zealand in the 1960s, and oil and gas have been discovered in several parts of New Zealand's offshore territory, with the only commercial production to date being the development of the Maui field, which extends 35 to 50 km off the Taranaki coast. With the decline of the Maui field a number of other offshore oil and gas fields in the EEZ are being appraised and are likely to be developed over the next few years.
Submarine cables and pipelines
Around 90% of New Zealand's international telecommunication services are carried on submarine cable systems, with the remainder handled via satellites. The majority of services carried on undersea cables systems today consist of data in the form of email and internet traffic. Submarine cables are at risk from damage due to natural causes or other ocean users, and a submarine cable failure could have a serious impact on the New Zealand economy.
Pipelines service the Maui gas field off Taranaki. These pipelines have been a vital component of primary energy supply since 1979. They may become less significant economically as supplies from the Maui field start to taper off, or they may be utilised as part of some future offshore petroleum development.
Fishing
Fishing is New Zealand's fourth largest export earner. Despite the size of New Zealand's EEZ, its waters are relatively deep (New Zealand's offshore fisheries are among the deepest in the world) and not particularly rich in nutrients, so the productivity of its fisheries resources is relatively low.
Since the development of deepwater fisheries in New Zealand's EEZ in the 1970s and 1980s much of the EEZ has now been explored by modern fishing and research vessels, and it does not appear that there are many undiscovered fishing resources of significant size. The New Zealand fishery is arguably therefore approaching the limits of exploitation with few prospects for expansion, such that growth potential will be mainly dependent on added value from processing and marketing gains.
Scientific research
While there are no precise figures for scientific research in the EEZ, around $50-$70 million of marine research is conducted annually in New Zealand (Chapman and Lough 2003). New Zealand has an extremely diverse marine flora and fauna, and its EEZ represents one of the world's most extensive and varied marine environments. The zone also contains a diversity of life that is economically important (eg, for fishing and aquaculture), and which supports conservation values and recreational use of the sea.
Many of our activities in New Zealand are connected to the biological and physical processes operating in the ocean. Recent research has therefore focused on understanding physical, ecological and biological systems.
Dumping
The environmental effect of dumping is dependent on the amount and type of waste, and the sensitivity of the area where it is dumped. In New Zealand dumping is largely restricted to the disposal of dredge spoil generated from port and harbour dredging activities. However, old ships are also disposed of (several a year), and there is also the potential for used petroleum production facilities to be left on site when decommissioned.
Prospecting for minerals
There is a growing body of knowledge around the potential nature and location of mineral seabed resources. Many are associated with hydrothermal (underwater hot spring) mineralisations. While there are currently no offshore mineral mining operations in New Zealand, [Underwater mining operations are not yet commercially viable due to the costs and technical challenges involved in accessing underwater environments.] prospecting operations have been undertaken around the EEZ, particularly on the Kermadec Ridge.
Summary
As described above, there are only a few industries currently operating in the EEZ. Fishing and shipping are the largest, and have had reasonably stable levels of operation over the last five years. Other commercial activities operate at a lower scale:
- submarine cables and pipelines are large investments on which returns are made over a number of years
- petroleum exploration has increased in the EEZ, although there is currently only one production facility
- dumping is largely restricted to the disposal of dredge spoil generated from port- and harbour-dredging activities.
There are also a number of technologies that are being trialled in the EEZs of countries overseas, including deep sea aquaculture farms, energy generation projects and the mining of minerals (other than petroleum). While the relevant technologies are not economically viable at the moment, they are likely to be developed to this point in the next 10-20 years.
