Nugget Point May 2005

This was originally published in the Otago Daily Times 11 May 2005

RECENT criticisms that my staff and I are being dictatorial in relation to the Nugget Point marine reserve proposal are entirely misplaced.
   

We do not decide marine reserve applications. We have said we will make an application for a marine reserve at Nugget Point, as anyone is free to do, but we have not yet taken this step. Decisions on marine reserve applications are made by the Ministers of Conservation, Fisheries and Transport after a public notice and submissions process.
   

This country's marine areas are owned in common by all New Zealanders, not just the people who fish in them. The public submissions process will give everyone an opportunity to participate before the ministers decide.
   

Nugget Point has been suggested as the site of Otago's first marine reserve at least since 1989, and the Otago Conservation Management Strategy (approved by the New Zealand Conservation Authority in 1998) calls for the resolution of the first application made in 1992. The Otago Conservation Board has pressed for progress to be made with this on numerous occasions. In view of the lapse of time, it is not appropriate to simply reactivate the 1992 application from where it left off. Instead, we have elected to start again. We have discussed the issue with interested parties, listened to the concerns expressed about the 1992 boundaries and have shown a willingness to change them in some respects, even though this may weaken the proposal from a conservation perspective. We have gathered more information and Nugget Point's marine environment remains a uniquely diverse site which we believe should be protected in the public interest.
   

The Nugget Point proposal has generated intense feelings on the part of the people whose fishing opportunities will be affected, particularly those who live locally. They have made it clear that we should look elsewhere. But should all South Island marine reserves be hard to reach without a boat as they are at present? Should there not be some accessible and diverse places where all New Zealanders can appreciate the marine environment in its natural state; to see paua and lobster in rock pools and to appreciate them as wildlife rather than as food?