Nelson-based mussel farmer Johnny Arbuckle is welcoming the change. Photo: Supplied
A 20-year extension for marine consents will bring security to the aquaculture sector, industry heads say, despite concerns it will cement outdated environmental conditions.
The Resource Management (Extended Duration of Coastal Permits for Marine Farms) Amendment Bill passed in Parliament this week, granting marine farms another 20 years on their permits, but not beyond 2050.
It was opposed by Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori due to environmental concerns.
Aquaculture NZ chief executive Gary Hooper said the extension would bring security for 1200 current marine farm operations to know they could continue for another two decades.
"The certainty it provides enables the sector to go forward with confidence. Confidence to invest in more productive pursuits, in resilience, and importantly, invest in growth."
He said the industry had been frustrated by decades of bureaucracy and the cost of re-applying for resource consents.
Aquaculture NZ estimated millions would have been spent on renewing consents for almost 300 marine farms this year.
"There were some farms at risk [of their consent not being renewed] that were strategically important nursery sites, particularly for our mussel industry. There's probably dozens of other sites at risk because of that nursery area being taken away."
Nelson-based mussel farmer Johnny Arbuckle said the extension had brought him two decades of job security.
He said there had been concerns the consent for the farm's spat nursery would not be renewed, stopping year-round operation.
"I somewhat still have a job for 20-plus years. It's just one of those things you'll never have to fight. You're constantly fighting with people, you're constantly arguing with people why [marine farms] should be there.
"I've got a young family... The certainty behind it is just huge."
There are currently about 1200 marine farm operations in New Zealand. Photo: Supplied
However, some were concerned that the law did not take changes to the environment into account.
Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor said the government had overstepped into councils' work to renew consents.
He said the extension applied to some marine consents that were old and had inappropriate environmental conditions.
"Some of them go back before the Resource Management Act came into force. To lock in poor conditions, for another 20 years, is just ridiculous.
"We should be renewing these things, and bringing them up to date, and making sure that marine farming - which in its own right is a good thing - isn't harming the environment."
Older consents would not be able to respond to future environmental challenges, he said.
"We always thought that maybe a five-year extension might make sense, in order for things to settle down and for us to get some clarity about the future of the industry, where it should be located.
"Twenty years is a whole generation, and there'll be a lot of change across that period, particularly because of climate change."
But Hooper said the industry had appropriate environmental checks in place.
"By far the vast majority of consents come with consent conditions, very detailed and up-to-date consent conditions," he said.
"The effects of marine farming in the environment - bear in mind we've been doing this for decades - they are well known, they are understood. Internationally, we are recognised for our environmental performance."