Nelson marine farm plea

The Crown should have first right to buy marine farms when they come on the market so it can allocate them to Maori as part of future treaty settlements, an aquaculture conference in Nelson has been told.

Kirsty Woods, a policy analyst with Te Ohu Kai Moana (Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission), said water space needed to be set aside so that it was not all snapped up before Maori rights were clarified.



She said there needed to be a provision for iwi to gain access to water space in the interim "rather than wait five to 10 years and find there's no suitable water space left".

An iwi aquaculture steering group set up by the commission believed the Crown should buy space to allocate to Maori in settlements.

- NZPA