Beyond a BillionIwi in Aquaculture 2025Risks and Opportunities

Aquaculture New Zealand Conference2009

Aquaculture New ZealandAhumoana Aotearoa

Whakatu, 4 Whiringa a Rangi 2009

• Mihi Whakatau

• Chair – Harry Mikaere

• Proposed Law Reforms

• Iwi Aquaculture Experiences

• Hauraki

• Wakatu

• New Zealand King Salmon/Te Ati Awa

• Māori Economic Development Taskforce

• National Māori Aquaculture Strategy

• Next Steps

AgendaBeyond a Billion

Iwi in Aquaculture 2025Risks and Opportunities

• Government has signalled strong support for Aquaculture

• What’s happened?

• Resource Management Act Amendments

• Aquaculture Amendment Bill # 2

• Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill

Proposed Law Reforms

• Joint work with Industry, Iwi, and Government

• Independent Review by LECG

• Technical Advisory Group (TAG)

Fundamental Reforms

• What will not change

• UAE will be retained

• Integrity of Fisheries and Aquaculture Settlements protected

• Regional Focus for settlement

• Aquaculture development likely to increase

• Likely to be streamlined/faster process

• Foreshore and Seabed

Fundamental Reforms

• What will change

• Aquaculture development likely to increase

• Likely to be streamlined/faster process

Fundamental Reforms

• Aquaculture will grow

• Aquaculture has a target of $1b by 2025

• Potential is even greater

• Opportunities to apply for new space

• New Species

• Need to be prepared – first up best dressed

• Passive or Proactive investment

• Commercial and/or cultural priorities and outcomes

Implications for Iwi

• Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act

• Māori will still get 20% of new space

• Regional Focus

• Need to consider how will deal with regional settlements

• Developing space allocated under settlement will require capital

• Consider now what stake you want in aquaculture?

• Keeping engaged with the policy development process

Implications for Iwi

• Ongoing policy/legislation development

• Aquaculture reforms

• Settlement Agreements

• Wider RMA Reforms (natural resource management, including water)

• Emissions Trading

• Foreshore and Seabed

• Iwi need to be engaging strategically across all natural resource management issues

Implications for Iwi

Aquaculture – the Hauraki Experience

• Now have involvement with over 320 ha of mussel farm space in Hauraki Gulf

• Didn’t start at this – original 17 hectares in 1986 (under MFA 1971)

• Original balance sheet $450K and now $30M

• Employment – significant change over 25 years– Now have approx 25+ directly involved on farms– Now also have 160 employed in processing for about 8 months per year

• Regional economic development and prosperity

Aquaculture – the Hauraki experience

Why we entered into aquaculture– Concerns about inshore fishstocks in late 70s and

early 80s– Kaumatua recommended that aquaculture be

investigated -What cost, what skills, who hold– Agreed to begin commercial company – Tikapa

Moana Entreprises Ltd – owned by 11 marae – Gain consent - took 3-4 years– Iwi also entered through its own company Tai Moana

Marine Farms Ltd

Aquaculture

• Recognise what business you are in– Aquaculture is NOT fish– at its most basic level for iwi, Settlement quota is an

asset and there is an ability to immediately sell ACE that only requires detailed work for a small part of the year, & fishers can fish in a range of places

– Aquaculture on the other hand starts as a liability that requires considerable capital input to 1st harvest (approx $75K / ha in Hauraki)

– Aquaculture is site bound and the farm must be managed 24 / 365

– Aquaculture development is generally cash constrained

Hauraki experience

• Why not just develop original area?– Scale : unable to make progress without greater

areas• Getting space

– RMA ‘One stop shop’ slow, as Council did plans but concerns about ‘gold rush’• Group A took 8 years• Group B 16 years and counting

– moratorium STOP shop– Aquaculture reforms STILL STOP– Aquaculture Settlement 20% of past – now settled,

20% of new – nil yet, but 104ha soon

Hauraki

Going farming– Need to know what technically is required for

environment – Eg needed change in Anchors and backbone design

in going from inter-tidal to out in Gulf– Need to have spat – Fouling – different seasonal growth– Closures – biotoxins eg algae blooms red tide, PSPs – Need to have approvals to be able to sell product ie

testing to meet USFDA and EU standards: testing for at least 2 years

HaurakiJoint Ventures

– Too costly to go alone – either in expense or time in making mistakes

– Learn from others experience– Need to have JVs / Partnerships with others

• partner must fit with iwi – short, medium and long-term

• must have comprehensive understanding of industry

• Need to be explicit so no surprise and clear responsibilities

Hauraki

• Need Capacity - both onshore and offshore– Need barges , wharves and depots– Need heavy trucks to move from shore to

processor– Need adequate roading infrastructure

• All this means extensive ongoing dialogue with Councils and communities re infrastructure

Hauraki – selling your product

• Need to know terms of trade with processors

• Need to recognise that this reflects international prices that reflect both demand and NZ$/US$

• Last year $1050/ tonne but this year $650/tonne

• Probably need long average to be $725 to break even

Hauraki – where to from here?

• Current propose to merge the iwi / marae companies with retained shares of ownership

• Looking to develop further through Joint Ventures with others in further marine farming products

Hauraki – key lessons

• Do your planning – work through all the details and timing associated with each aspect

• Get some robust financial analysis so aware of what is required

• Set up explicit joint venture/ partnership arrangements

• Talk and work with Councils on providing necessary infrastructure

• Māori control around 35% of industry already

• Collective Political leverage (with Government and Industry bodies)

• Growing investment through both active investment and settlement assets

• Potential to capture greater returns across value chain – production to market

• Build economies of scale

• Research and Development – Primary Growth Partnership

• New Species development – commercial and cultural

• Indigenous Branding (including wider Māori industry?)

National Māori Aquaculture Strategy

• Iwi Māori expectations of AQNZ, TOKM, te mea

• Where to from here – continuing the conversation and delivering outcomes

• Minister of Māori Affairs visit to Coromandel next week

• TOKM workshop 26/27 November

• Facilitating input into policy development

• Aquaculture (including TAG response)

• Wider RMA/natural resource management

• ETS

• Foreshore and Seabed

• Māori Fisheries Conference April 2010

• Keeping connected

Next Steps