Chapter 7: Information on existing uses, interests, and values
On this page
Aotearoa New Zealand’s territorial sea (up to 12 nautical miles) and exclusive economic zone (between 12 and 200 nautical miles) are home to a number of cultural, recreational, environmental and economic uses, interests, and values. Any offshore renewable energy developments could either co-exist or come into conflict with these uses, interests, and values. It is important that we identify the ones that may come into conflict early on. In the future, it will also be important to consider how any offshore renewable energy developments and other uses could co-exist (or be co-located) in the same space. While it may not be realistic to map broad and intangible interests, such as those pertaining to Tikanga Māori, (including kaitiakitanga and whanaungatanga) these remain important to considering the feasibility of establishing offshore renewable energy.
The range of uses, interests, and values in Aotearoa New Zealand’s territorial sea and exclusive economic zone would include:
- Iwi, hapū, whānau / Māori , Te Tiriti o Waitangi
- Takutai moana legislation decisions and application areas
- Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Claims) Settlement Act 1992
- Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004
- Customary fishing areas,
- individual historic treaty settlements, and
- food gathering or landing place of ancestral canoes considered to be wahi tapu.
- Economic
- commercial fisheries
- tourism activities, and
- Environmental
- closed seamounts
- benthic protected areas
- marine protected areas under the marine management Acts
- marine reserves, and
- marine mammal sanctuaries.
- Safety
- high-traffic shipping routes
- cable and pipeline protection zones
- New Zealand Defence Force firing practice, exercise and submarine safe bottoming areas, and
- safety zones around existing petroleum and minerals mining infrastructure.
- Social
- recreational fishing.
Where data is available, we have mapped a non-exhaustive range of identified existing uses, interests and values in the 3 regions currently being explored for offshore renewable energy potential. Annex 5 provides full size versions of these maps.
33. Are there other uses, interests, and values not covered above that can be readily mapped? What are they?
34. Of the uses, interests, and values identified above, which ones do you consider should be prohibitive, ie the existence of those uses, interests, and values in a given area should exclude an area from consideration for offshore renewable energy generation? Why?
35. What opportunities do you envisage for offshore renewable energy developments and other uses, interests and values to co-exist, or be co-located in the same space?
36. How could conflicts with existing uses, interests and values be managed?
37. What uses, interests and values cannot readily be mapped? How should these be taken into account when considering the feasibility of establishing offshore wind farms?