| Consultation
on Marine Protected Areas Plan
Chris
Carter - Minister of Conservation
11
November 2004
Dear Trish Rea
Marine Protected
Areas Policy Statement and Implementation Plan
Attached for your comment
is the draft Marine Protected Area (MPA) Policy Statement and Implementation
Plan developed by the Department of Conservation (DoC) and the Ministry
of Fisheries (MFish).
The Government is strongly
committed to protecting representative samples of the full range
of marine habitats and ecosystems as part of a wider strategy to
effectively conserve New Zealand's biodiversity. The attached
material is a significant step in achieving this goal. It
provides information about the Government's MPA objectives and outlines
how government agencies, tangata whenua and interested parties may
contribute to achieving those objectives.
The MPA Policy Statement
sets out a series of high-level principles that will guide planning
and prioritising the MPA network at the national level and the selection
of possible MPA sites and management tools. The MPA Implementation
Plan sets out a process to develop a network of MPAs in a manner
consistent with the objective and principles of the Policy Statement.
The MPA Annual Operating Plan sets out key tasks to be undertaken
in a given year.
A range of management tools
that could potentially contribute to the MPA network is discussed.
They include marine reserves, Fisheries Act tools, Resource
Management Act measures and other tools.
Further copies of the consultation
material may be obtained from DoC and MFish offices. The
material is also available on the Government's biodiversity website
www.biodiversity.govt.nz
. If you have any questions or would like to discuss
your views with officials, please contact Jim Nicolson (phone 04-471-3098)
or Jennie McMurran (phone 04-470-2668).
Submissions are due on Friday
21 January 2005. Submissions may be emailed to MPA@fish.govt.nz
or sent by mail to Lean Neoh, Ministry of Fisheries, P O Box
1020, Wellington.
After submissions have been
received and considered, the Policy Statement and Implementation
Plan will be reviewed and any amendments made. Ministers
will then approve a final version of the material. As indicated
in the attached material, the Implementation Plan will be regularly
reviewed and up-dated as progress is made and more information becomes
available.
We look forward to hearing
your views, and to continuing progress in implementing a range of
measures to protect New Zealand's special marine habitats and ecosystems.
Yours sincerely
Hon Chris Carter
Minister of Conservation
Hon David Benson-Pope
Minister of Fisheries
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