186ZMPre-request aquaculture agreements

1. A person who has applied for a coastal permit to undertake aquaculture activities in the coastal marine area may, before a regional council makes a request under section 114 of the Resource Management Act 1991 for an aquaculture decision in relation to the coastal permit, lodge a pre-request aquaculture agreement in relation to the area covered by the application with the chief executive for registration.

2. The pre-request aquaculture agreement must be in the approved form, be accompanied by the prescribed fee, and—

3. relate to 1 or more stocks subject to the quota management system; and
4. contain the consents required under subsection (3) to the exclusion of the stock from consideration by the chief executive when making an aquaculture decision in relation to the area covered by the application if the coastal permit is granted; and
5. be accompanied by information showing that each registered quota owner had a reasonable opportunity to consider whether to consent.

6. A pre-request aquaculture agreement must contain, as at 5 pm on the day before the date on which the agreement is lodged for registration, the consent, for each stock included in the agreement, of the registered quota owners of the stock holding not less than 75% of the quota shares for the stock.

7. A person who wishes to lodge a pre-request aquaculture agreement with the chief executive for registration must, at least 20 working days before lodging the agreement, give notice of the person’s intention to lodge the agreement—

8. to each quota owner of stock that is included in the agreement; and
9. by a notice published in a newspaper circulating in the locality of the proposed coastal permit the agreement relates to.

10. After a pre-request aquaculture agreement is registered, no person whose consent is contained in the agreement may revoke the consent, but the consent and the aquaculture agreement itself come to an end—

11. if the application for the coastal permit they relate to is declined or withdrawn; or
12. if the application is granted, when the coastal permit to which they relate comes to an end, unless the coastal permit is replaced by a new permit in accordance with section 165ZH of the Resource Management Act 1991.

13. Sections 186ZH and 186ZK apply with any necessary modifications as if references to an aquaculture agreement were references to a pre-request aquaculture agreement and references to section 186ZF were references to section 186ZM.

14. A quota holder for a stock, which is the subject of a registered pre-request aquaculture agreement, who did not consent to the agreement is entitled to receive from the applicant in proportion to the quota holder's shareholding of the stock equivalent entitlements and benefits (whether financial or otherwise), to those that were agreed between the applicant and the persons who consented to the agreement.

15. The High Court may make such orders or give such directions as it thinks fit for the purposes of subsection (7).

16. An order or direction under subsection (8) must not prevent or delay the chief executive making an aquaculture decision.