Frequently Asked Questions
Takutai Trust was established under the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 to facilitate aquaculture settlements between Iwi and the Crown. We also act as the agent of Iwi in relation to policy matters relevant to the aquaculture settlement.
The Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 states that Iwi with coastal rohe/area are entitled to a share of aquaculture settlement areas created in their area under the current aquaculture regime. Iwi without coastline have no entitlements to the aquaculture settlement areas created in their area.
Iwi Aquaculture Organisations receive aquaculture settlement assets on behalf of their Iwi.
Before an entity can be recognised as an Iwi Aquaculture Organisation, they must also be a Mandated Iwi Organisation for the purposes of the Maori Fisheries Act 2004.
The Act guarantees that the Crown will provide Iwi with aquaculture settlement assets equivalent to 20% of all the value of all marine farming space created around New Zealand’s coasts and specific harbours since 21 September 1992.
Settlement assets can take the form of cash, authorisations to develop water space or a combination of both.
Once agreement has been reached on the form of the settlement assets, regional assets are transferred to the Takutai Trust and held until such time as the relevant regional Iwi agree how to allocate those assets amongst themselves.
Because approvals for aquaculture development take place under the Resource Management Act 1991, aquaculture settlement obligations are determined by region, based on regional councils’ and unitary authorities’ boundaries.
For the pre-commencement phase, the Crown and Iwi worked together to look at what water space was consented for development between 22 September 1992 to 31 December 2004, determined the value of that water space, and then reached agreement on a package of settlement assets that covered those obligations.
For the interim Aquaculture Management Area (AMA) phase, Iwi were given authorisations to apply for resource consents for a representative 20 per cent of aquaculture space in any approved AMA at the same time as its approval.
For the new space phase, the Crown and Iwi have worked together to forecast expected aquaculture growth between 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2035 and then a valuation model was built for each species that considered the timing of development and variations in regional costs. This model was refined and agreed between the Crown and Iwi and was used to determine the overall financial equivalent that iwi would receive in 2015 for the various regional settlements if cash was taken. The Crown and Iwi have since worked together to determine how Iwi want to receive their settlement assets – as authorisations for space inside an Aquaculture Settlement Area (if established, these areas give Iwi the exclusive right to apply for consent for aquaculture activities within that space), cash or a combination of both.
Any marine farming space covered by permits, leases, or licenses first issued between 21 September 1992 and 1 January 2005 is referred to as ‘pre- commencement space’. This includes any space that is first approved under the old legislation after 1 January 2005. So any authorisations issued in this way are deemed to be ‘pre-commencement space’ (even though they will have been issued after 1 January 2005).
Any marine farming space approved within an Aquaculture Management Area (AMA) is referred to as interim AMA space. AMAs are established through a plan change to the Regional Coastal Plan. Existing permitted aquaculture licenses before the new aquaculture reforms will have AMAs automatically created. The aquaculture settlement assets being allocated are the rights to apply for a resource consent in the 20% of new aquaculture space, this is referred to as the authorisation to apply for a consent, or to hold the consent in 20% of existing space.
New space is any marine farming space that becomes available under the current aquaculture regime that came into effect on the 1st January 2005. This includes space covered by any marine farm permit applications that did not get ‘notified’ by regional councils before the moratorium on 28 November 2001.
Although no marine farming space may currently exist in your region, it may be anticipated that new marine farming space could be created in the near future. Therefore, under the new space settlement obligation you may be able to negotiate with the Crown to receive settlement assets upfront which is representative of any anticipated new aquaculture space likely to be created in the future.
No, it doesn’t. The aquaculture settlement only relates to commercial marine farming in coastal waters out to 12 nautical miles. The settlement does not relate to freshwater aquaculture, land-based aquaculture (fresh or saltwater).
Currently, the settlement is limited to development that occurs in coastal waters out to 12 nautical miles.
The potential for open ocean aquaculture to occur in New Zealand is increasingly being promoted and we are working with the Crown, regional councils and industry to determine what policy framework should apply to that development. As part of those discussions, we are ensuring that an appropriate settlement framework is established for open ocean aquaculture.