Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No 3)

13 New sections 25A and 25B inserted

• The following sections are inserted after section 25:

  “25A Assessment of effect on fishing of applications pending at commencement of Act

  • “(1) This section applies to an application—

    • “(a) to which section 25(1) applies; and

    • “(b) which, as at the commencement of Part 1 of the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Act (No 3) 2010, has not been determined.

    “(2) The chief executive may, in addition to seeking information from the applicant under section 67J(7) of the principal Act, seek information relevant to the application from—

    • “(a) any fisher whose interests may be affected if the application is granted; and

    • “(b) persons and organisations that the chief executive considers represent the classes of persons who have customary, commercial, or recreational fishing interests that may be affected if the application is granted.

    “(3) The chief executive may set a date by which information must be provided and is not required to consider or take into account any information received after that date.

    “(3) The chief executive—

    • “(a) may set a date by which information must be provided and may grant 1 or more extensions of that date if he or she considers it necessary to do so; and

    • “(b) is not required to consider or take into account any information received after that date or extended date (as the case may be).

    “(4) The chief executive must—

    • “(a) grant the application under section 67J, 67K, or 67Q of the principal Act (as the case may require) if the chief executive is satisfied that the activities contemplated by the application would not have an undue adverse effect on fishing; but

    • “(b) decline the application under section 67J, 67K, or 67Q of the principal Act (as the case may require) if the chief executive is not satisfied that the activities contemplated by the application would not have an undue adverse effect on fishing.

    “(5) However, the chief executive must defer making a decision whether to grant or decline the application under section 67J, 67K, or 67Q of the principal Act (as the case may require) if—

    • “(a) the chief executive is satisfied that the activities contemplated by the application would not have an undue adverse effect on fishing other than commercial fishing; but

    • “(b) the chief executive is not satisfied that the activities contemplated by the application would not have an undue adverse effect on commercial fishing.

    “(6) To avoid doubt, subsections (4) and (5) apply in place of section 67J(8) of the principal Act.

    “(7) If subsection (4) applies but subsection (5) does not, the chief executive must give a notice to the applicant and give public notification—

    • “(a) stating that the application is granted or declined; and

    • “(b) giving the chief executive's reasons for granting or declining the application.

    “(8) If subsection (5) applies, the chief executive must give a notice to the applicant and give public notification accordingly. The notice and public notification must also—

    • “(a) specify—

      • “(i) the area concerned; and

      • “(ii) the stocks subject to the quota management system in the area that are the reason for the chief executive's view under subsection (5)(b); and

    • “(b) specify the chief executive's reasons for deciding that subsection (5) applies; and

    • “(c) contain a copy, or statement to the effect, of subsections (9) and (10).

    “(9) The chief executive must decline the application, if the applicant does not lodge an aquaculture agreement with the chief executive within 6 months after the date of the notice or before the expiry of any extension of time under section 186ZI(4) of the Fisheries Act 1996.

    “(10) The chief executive must grant the application and issue the permit if the applicant lodges an aquaculture agreement with the chief executive within 6 months after the date of the notice or before the expiry of any extension of time under section 186ZI(4) of the Fisheries Act 1996.

    “(11) For the purposes of this section, the reference in section 67J(10) of the principal Act to ‘adverse effects on fishing or the sustainability of any fisheries resource’ must be read as if it were a reference to ‘adverse effects on fishing’.

    “(12) Any person wishing to seek, under Part 1 of the Judicature Amendment Act 1972, judicial review of a decision under this section must do so within 15 30 working days after the decision.

    “(13) The provisions in Schedule 2 have effect in relation to aquaculture agreements for the purpose of this section.

    “(14) In this section,—

    “aquaculture agreement means an agreement that complies with subpart 4 of Part 9A of the Fisheries Act 1996, subject to the modifications set out in Schedule 2

    “commercial fishing means the fishing, authorised by a permit issued under section 91 of the Fisheries Act 1996, of stocks subject to the quota management system

    “public notification has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Fisheries Act 1996.

  “25B Information and matters to be considered in relation to applications to which section 25A applies

  • “(1) In making a decision under section 25A(4) or (5), the chief executive must have regard to any—

    • “(a) information held by the Ministry of Fisheries; and

    • “(b) information supplied by the applicant; and

    • “(c) information supplied to the chief executive by the persons referred to in section 25A(2), whether before or after the commencement of Part 1 of the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Act (No 3) 2010; and

    • “(d) other information requested and obtained by the chief executive from any other source.

    • “(d) any other information that the chief executive has requested and obtained.

    “(2) In considering for the purposes of section 25A(4) and (5) whether granting the application will have an undue adverse effect on fishing, the chief executive must have regard only to the following matters:

    • “(a) the location of the area that the application relates to in relation to areas in which fishing is carried out:

    • “(b) the likely effect of the granting of the permit on fishing of any fishery, including the proportion of any fishery likely to become affected:

    • “(c) the degree to which the granting of the permit in the area that the application relates to will lead to the exclusion of fishing:

    • “(d) the extent to which fishing for a species in the area that the application relates to can be carried out in other areas:

    • “(e) the extent to which the granting of the permit will increase the cost of fishing:

    • “(f) the cumulative effect on fishing of any authorised aquaculture activities.

    “(3) This section applies subject to section 25A(3).”