A panel said the benefits did not outweigh the environmental costs. Photo: April Bencze
A proposal to build and operate an open ocean salmon farm near Rakiura has been declined by an independent panel.
Ngāi Tahu Seafood Resources Limited applied for a fast-tracked consent to develop roughly 2500 hectares off the north-eastern coast of Stewart Island.
In a decision report, the panel said it declined the necessary resource consents with a heavy heart as it agreed the Hananui Aquaculture Project would enormously benefit Ngāi Tahu whānui, the wider community and economy.
"The panel has been conscious all along how important the project is for the applicant and mindful that Ngāi Tahu has an ancestral and enduring relationship with Rakiura and Te Ara a Kiwa, and saw this proposal as an opportunity to develop a contemporary mahinga kai."
But the panel said the benefits did not outweigh the environmental costs to an area that was home to threatened species and largely unmodified by human activities.
"The large-scale and dispersed salmon farms will result in a major step change to a receiving environment that is relatively unmodified by human activities, with very high natural character from a notable absence of any permanent marine structures and a relatively low level of human activity, except transiting and anchoring vessels."
The proposed area is adjacent to Rakiura National Park.
The panel found the proposal could improve employment and support the country's recovery from the impacts of Covid-19, but the overall activity was non-complying and it would have "adverse effects, which are more than minor".
The panel said it would not promote the sustainable management of natural resources, which was contrary to the objectives of the Southland Regional Coastal Plan or the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.