Bioprospecting in the Marine Environment

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(No Transcript)
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Bioprospecting in the Marine Environment

• Ministry of Economic Development Seminar
• February 21st 2003
• Jane Gunn

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Bioprospecting fishing

• Bioprospecting
• Taking something from the ocean for research
  development

• Fishing
• Taking fisheries resources from New Zealand
  fisheries waters

Bioprospecting in the marine environment is
managed under the Fisheries Act 1996
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Fisheries management regime

• Fisheries Act 1996
• Purpose
• To provide for the utilisation of fisheries
  resources while ensuring sustainability
• Jurisdiction
• Comprehensive all marine freshwater

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Definitions

• Aquatic life
• any species of plant or animal life that, at
  any stage in its life history, must inhabit
  water, whether living or dead seabirds
• Fisheries resources
• fish, aquatic life or seaweed
• Fishing
• catching, taking or harvesting of fish,
  aquatic life or seaweed ( activities leading to
  this)

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Definitions

• New Zealand fisheries waters
• EEZ (to 200 nm)
• Territorial sea (to 12 nm)
• All internal waters of NZ
• All other fresh or estuarine waters in NZ where
  fish, aquatic life or seaweed is found

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NZ Fisheries Management Areas
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Fisheries management tools

• Quota Management System (QMS)
• Gives fishers transferable harvesting rights by
  allocating access to fisheries resources
• the right to fish, not ownership of the fish
• Fishing permits
• Provide access to fisheries resources outside the
  QMS
• Special permits
• Discretionary access for specified activities

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Special permits s97

• May be granted at discretion of MFish CE for
• Education
• Investigative research
• Pest control
• Trials of fishing gear vessels
• Sport or recreation for disabled persons
• Any other purpose approved by the Minister

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Authority to bioprospecting

• Special permit for investigative research,
  issued
• As part of an umbrella special permit or
• On a case-by-case basis

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Issuing special permits

• In considering applications MFish CE must
• Consult relevant parties if the special permit
  will have a significant effect on fisheries
  resources or any fishing interest
• Take into account
• Purpose of the Fisheries Act
• Provide for utilisation of fisheries resources
  while ensuring sustainability

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Issuing special permits

• Environmental principles
• Maintain associated dependent species
• Maintain aquatic biodiversity
• Protect habitat of particular significance for
  fisheries management
• Information principles
• Base decisions on best available information
• Apply the precautionary principle

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Special permit applications

• Investigative research proposals must include
• A detailed proposal - species, quantities
  required, vessel, method, personnel
• Standard MFish research proposal
• Issued for maximum of 3 years
• Individually assessed on a regional basis
• Cost recovered applicant pays costs

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Special permits for bioprospecting

• Most bioprospecting opportunistic occurs
  while undertaking other research
• Generic education research permits
• Schedule covers specific projects
• Amount limited usually to lt 30kgs / project
• Methods of extraction specified
• Marine reserves, taiapure maitaitai excluded
• Detailed reporting of what is taken, where how

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Special permits for bioprospecting

• Public good research covered by umbrella permit
  need not be separately approved
• E.g. taxonomic study, environmental impact
  assessment, resource inventory
• lt 30 kg / project
• Exception - protected species, restricted areas
• Definition of public good unclear

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Future access

• Bioprospecting under a special permit does NOT
  confer any right, privilege, or expectation or
  preference for granting of future permit or
  access

Access issues at development stage
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Fisheries Act
Access options
Non QMS species
QMS species
20 to Maori
No new access outside QMS due to permit
moratorium
Purchase quota
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Bioprospecting
Development
Lab
Farm in wild
Harvest in wild
Aquaculture RMA Consent Fisheries Act Permit
Fishing Fisheries Act Controls QMS / Fishing
Permit
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Farming in wild - managing effects
Aquaculture

RMA consent
Fisheries Permit

• Fisheries Act 1983
• Activity must not have undue effects on fishing /
  sustainability of fisheries resource
• Guide to Fisheries Resource Impact Assessment
  introduced Nov 2002 to improve standards
  transparency

• Aquaculture reform
• Aquaculture Management Areas will confine
  activity to certain areas

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Harvest in wild - managing effects
Fisheries Act
Focus on managing fisheries fish stocks
- Environmental principles - Fish stock
sustainability measures
Currently no requirement for AEE
Application to bioharvest untested
Proposed impacts of fishing strategy minimum
standards?
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Managing effects of bioprospecting
Effects based regimes Assessment of effects
should be proportional to potential effects
Bioprospecting -relatively small quantities /
effects
Bioharvesting -relatively larger quantities /
effects
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Bioprospecting in the marine environment
Bioharvesting
Bioprospecting
Increasingly difficult access issues
Increasing likelihood of environmental effects