25 August 2011 Chapter 9 - Coastal Marine 9.0 Coastal Marine 9.1 Introduction The Act defines the coastal marine area as being that area surrounding the coastline from mean high water springs to the outer limits of the territorial sea (12 nautical mile limit). This includes the foreshore, the seabed, the coastal water and the airspace above the water. By virtue of this definition, a vast proportion of the Marlborough Sounds planning area is coastal marine area. Section 12 of the Act places restrictions on the use of this area. Generally these restrictions mean that no person can use the coastal marine area in any way, unless it is allowed for by a rule in a regional coastal plan (the Plan) or by a resource consent. This includes disturbance of the foreshore or seabed and any occupation of the coastal marine area to the exclusion of other persons. Management of the coastal marine area is the responsibility of the Marlborough District Council (as one of its regional functions) under section 30(1)(d) of the Act. This function is shared between the Council and the Minister of Conservation. The Minister, amongst other things, must approve the regional coastal plan and in the case of the Plan the relevant coastal sections. The Minister is also responsible for the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement which has an important influence on Council’s management of the coastal environment. The Plan cannot be inconsistent with the Statement. The Council’s role in the coastal marine area is twofold and follows from the way in which people’s use of the coastal marine area is restricted under the Act. Council has the role of allocating the right to occupy space in the coastal marine area. That is, allocating or authorising the use of public resources for private benefit. The Council also has the role of promoting the sustainable management of the natural and physical resources of the coastal marine area. This carries the onus of ensuring that these resources and the qualities associated with them, remain available for the use, enjoyment and benefit of future generations. The Council’s primary tool for managing the coastal marine area and fulfilling its section 30(1)(d) functions, is the Plan. The main issues identified by the Plan in relation to the coastal marine area follow on directly from Council’s role in the management of the coastal marine area. Within the Urban Environment section the Plan deals specifically with Port and Marina activities separately from this Coastal Marine section. The Act contains provisions enabling the regional councils to implement a system of coastal tendering to safeguard the Crown’s interest in the foreshore and seabed, as well as to secure benefits such as meeting a public expectation that coastal allocation will be fair and efficient. A reform of the legislation covering the management of marine farming – the Aquaculture Reform 2004 - came into effect on 1 January 2005. The aim of the reform was to create a more integrated aquaculture management regime, with a balance between enabling economic development, looking after the environment, settling the Crown’s Treaty obligations to Maori, and responding to community concerns. As a result of this reform, marine farming is now mostly covered by the Resource Management Act, with one process for planning where marine farms should go and for granting consents for them to occupy coastal 9 - 1