Mr Nash would no doubt have significant support for his proposed 50m (depth) moratorium on commercial fishing and the desirability of this as an interim measure is understandable. Longer term, though, setting blanket restrictions on commercial fishing in certain areas would harm the businesses and employees that depend on access to the fishery (as quota holders) but may not tackle the main causes of the problem.
What leaps off the page in reading the Hawke's Bay Marine Information report is that sedimentation is at the very forefront of threats to coastal habitats within Hawke's Bay. Sedimentation rates increased greatly following European conversion of native scrub and forest into pasture. The report records a number of "consistent themes" from interviews with stakeholder groups, identifying a significant decline in water quality (predominantly underwater visibility region-wide since the mid-1970s), and a general perception of increased sedimentation throughout rivers and estuarine systems.
If there is one issue that underscores the need for integrated management in protecting our environment, this is it. What we do on land matters, in our rivers and in the sea. This point also highlights why measures such as Change 6 to the Regional Plan setting stock fencing requirements that can significantly reduce sediment and nutrient runoff are so important.
At present, the focus of the Regional Coastal Plan is on regulating structures and activities that may have an effect on the seabed or coastline. On its own, this will not reverse the bigger problems surrounding deteriorating marine habitats and declining fish stocks. The council can do much better than simply tell its ratepayers what not to do. It needs to enable positive outcomes. As well as the initiatives referred to earlier, taking a lead on a community- driven response to this type of issue can pay real dividends.
Raglan Harbour provides a classic case study of how a constructive integrated management approach involving fencing and riparian planting can dramatically improve coastal water quality.
To summarise, a smart policy response demands a robust understanding of the science. This does not mean putting off doing anything to protect or restore our precious and cherished coastal environment. A factually based, policy-driven approach will ultimately deliver the best outcomes in the shortest timeframe.
- Martin Williams is a Napier-based lawyer specialising in environmental law who is standing for the Hawke's Bay Regional Council in this year's local body elections in October.
- Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz