There is an opportunity through the select committee process to comment on the details of the Kaikoura (Te Tai o Marokura) Marine Management Bill and the related Gazette notices.
Background
The Kaikoura (Te Tai o Marokura) Marine Management Bill establishes the following management measures for the coast and sea around Kaikōura (Te Tai-o-Marokura):
- A marine reserve
- A whale sanctuary
- A New Zealand fur seal sanctuary
- Five customary fisheries areas (two taiāpure-local fisheries and three mātaitai reserves)
- An advisory committee
- Fishing regulations that are specific to the area
The Bill implements the various management measures together as one integrated package.
The measures not contained in the Bill will be implemented through two Gazette notices, which will come into force shortly after the Bill is enacted. These notices will impose restrictions in respect of the whale sanctuary and the New Zealand fur seal sanctuary.
Once the restrictions are in force:
- Any seismic surveying that is carried out in the whale sanctuary will have to comply with the 2013 Code of Conduct for Minimising Acoustic Disturbance to Marine Mammals fromSeismic Survey Operations and certain types of seismic surveying will be prohibited in the whale sanctuary unless the Director-General of Conservation grants an exemption (for example, in an emergency or for important research that cannot be carried out elsewhere)
- Access to the New Zealand fur seal sanctuary will be prohibited except in certain specified circumstances (for example, in an emergency or if access is necessary under conservation and fisheries legislation).
Draft Gazette notices
- Te Rohe-o-Te-Whānau-Puha–Kaikōura Whale Sanctuary (Restrictions) Notice 2014 (PDF, 579K)
- Ohau Point New Zealand Fur Seal Sanctuary (Restrictions) Notice 2014 (PDF, 532K)
How to make a submission
There will be an opportunity through the select committee process to comment on the details of the Bill and the Gazette notices.