20 August 2015 Chapter 9 - Coastal Marine enacted moorings are allocated and managed in Waikawa Bay by the Council via the resource consent process. Moorings comprise a limited discretionary activity inside of the Mooring Management Area within the Bay, if no Bylaw is in place. The policies seek to provide guidance and control on the individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects of marine farms and structures and their use, particularly visual effects. The term ‘structure’ is defined by the Act as any building, equipment, device or other facility made by people and which is fixed to land (ie; the foreshore or seabed) and includes any raft (section 2). Separate provision for marine farm transfer sites is no longer appropriate as there is no consistent demand for any particular location or description of the effects of transferring marine farms. Accordingly, transferring a marine farm is treated as a new site where adverse effects can be considered. Council acknowledges that management and allocation of fisheries resources is to be determined under the provisions of the Fisheries Act 1996 as opposed to the Act. However, Council can control the effects created by fishing as long as those controls are not imposed for a fisheries purposes eg; controls imposed for the protection of vulnerable, unique coastal substrate. The importance of public access and recreational use is recognised in a number of the occupation policies above, (particularly 1.5) as required by the Marlborough Regional Policy Statement. Council sees the future wellbeing of Marlborough and particularly the Sounds area linked to an increase in the recreational use of coastal resources. It is therefore important to ensure that allocation for coastal space for private use does not occur at the expense of public access and recreation values. It is also important to remember that there are no inherent development rights within the coastal marine area. Policy 9.2.1.1.2 reflects Policy 3.2.2 of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, which provides a hierarchy whereby adverse effects should be avoided as far as practicable in the first instance, and where these effects cannot be avoided they must be mitigated and remedied to the fullest practicable extent. This is a general policy that applies throughout Chapter 9. Policy 9.2.1.1.15 recognises that three sites have been specifically identified to provide for salmon farming, after being assessed as appropriate locations. Policies which further address the environmental effects of activities occupying coastal space need to be considered in conjunction with those above. Refer to section 10.6: Port and Harbour Activities; Chapter 10.7: Marina Activity; Chapter 19: Water Transportation; and, the second issue in this chapter, section 9.3. 9 – 7