A separate ministerial portfolio for the management of oceans and fisheries has now been in place for two years - what has it accomplished?
David Parker was one of four people to be given a brand-new ministerial role after the 2020 election, in what was a larger shake-up than usual to the status quo.
The others were, of course, Chris Hipkins as Covid-19 Minister, David Clark's designation as Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, and Andrew Little's extra job as the Lead Coordination Minister for the Government's Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into March 15.
Parker's much less wordy portfolio came from the amalgamation of the roles of the Fisheries Minister and parts of the delegation of the Conservation Minister: Oceans and Fisheries.
In a report back to Cabinet from July, Parker reflected on nearly two years of work in the role, highlighting the one area where progress had yet to be made and four new opportunities for future investigation. He declined to speak to Newsroom for this article.
Some of the top accomplishments were the Sea Change Plan for fisheries management and marine protection in the Hauraki Gulf, reform of the fisheries system through new legislation introduced in April and the realisation of the long-awaited cameras on fishing boats programme, with the first cameras to be installed by the end of 2022.
"Outcomes of the initial work programme include driving innovation and the sustainable growth of the marine economy through fisheries and aquaculture reforms. And Revitalising the Gulf is driving integrated marine management in order to reverse environmental decline in the Hauraki Gulf, including increasing marine protection threefold and delivering an area-based fisheries plan," Parker wrote.
Official Information Act responses to Newsroom show Parker has kept a close eye on the negotiations between iwi, fisheries and regional councils for over open ocean aquaculture consents.
NZ King Salmon is hoping to open a fish farm in the cool Cook Strait, as marine heatwaves killed off two in five fish in its Marlborough Sounds farms last summer. Sanford and Ngāi Tahu have also both lodged consent applications for farms off the coast of Southland, with the latter being fast-tracked under the Covid-19 consenting process.
Only one of the original initiatives in the work programme wasn't yet underway in July - the reform of rules around marine protected areas. Further information about this was redacted from the public version of the Cabinet paper.
Alongside the portfolio work programme approved by Cabinet, Parker also responded to the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor's report on commercial fishing and launched a forum with iwi representatives, environmental NGOs and the fishing industry to recommend next steps on managing bottom trawling.
Internationally, Parker wrote, negotiations were taking place on marine biodiversity protections in international waters, plastic pollution and deep sea mining. New Zealand announced its support for a moratorium on seabed mining in October.
Despite this, there's still a lot of work ahead.
"The marine management system is fragmented, with difficulty responding to growing pressures in a holistic, timely manner; and management decisions have too often been taken without regard to ecosystem-based management. This has created uncertainty for stakeholders, hindered growth and innovation, limited progress on marine protection, and generally impeded the optimal use and protection of marine space and resources," Parker wrote.
"Although the current work provides a solid foundation, there is more to do to ensure our oceans will be healthy, productive and resilient for future generations."
Officials had found "significant gaps" and laid out four areas where more work was needed.
These included the development of a comprehensive marine spatial planning framework, consideration of impacts on the marine environment which originate on land, better integrating regulatory tools and legislation and using data more effectively in decision-making.
Specifically, officials recommended developing a detailed business case for an integrated marine database, a national implementation framework for regional marine spatial planning and following the success of Sea Change with more integrated management plans in "priority regions".
Parker said he wanted to finish the original work programme before progressing these new initiatives.
