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Credit: Hamish McCormick

Policy and legislation for EBM

We are developing a research base for policy makers, Māori and stakeholders to navigate the legislative, policy and practice constraints surrounding EBM and any changes required to enable it.

Project LeaderDurationBudget
Elizabeth Macpherson (University of Canterbury) & Eric Jorgensen (P Jorgensen & Sons Ltd)April 2020 – June 2023$1,374,800

Overview

There are many laws, policies, institutions, and practices that affect the management of marine areas and resources in Aotearoa. These are often not well-integrated nor well-aligned.

This project's objective is to provide an evidence base to support policy makers, Māori organisations, iwi/hapū/whānau, industry and communities to navigate the legislative, policy and practice constraints surrounding EBM and any changes required to enable it.

We aim to identify and analyse a range of options for enabling EBM, in practice, policy, and legislation.

Research aims

  1. To identify and analyse a range of legal and policy options to enable both progressive and transformative change, and the practice, policy, and legislative implications involved in transition to EBM.
  2. To understand and articulate the risk of different management options and scales in an EBM context; and create adaptive management options appropriate to fluid spatial and temporal scales.
  3. To identify what opportunities exist for EBM implementation, and determine what needs to change to support successful implementation of EBM in Aotearoa New Zealand.

In order to better understand the experiences, perspectives and challenges of the diverse organisations responsible for managing marine areas and resources, our project is being co-developed with government, Māori, industry and community input.

Research Team

Elizabeth Macpherson (University of Canterbury)
Eric Jorgensen (P Jorgensen & Sons Ltd)
Judi Hewitt (University of Auckland)
Hamish Rennie (Lincoln University)
Karen Fisher (University of Auckland)
Adrienne Paul (University of Canterbury)
Andrew Allison (NIWA)
Julia Talbot-Jones (Victoria University of Wellington)
Steve Urlich (Lincoln University)

Related News

Media Coverage July 20238 Aug 2023Te Au o Te Moana - Voice of the Ocean: Karen Fisher24 Jul 2023Policy leadership needed for the future of Aotearoa’s marine environment13 Jul 2023Seafood Magazine: New tools developed to support multi-species management26 Apr 2023Media coverage in June 20227 Jun 2022Te Au o Te Moana - Voice of the Ocean: Elizabeth Macpherson 9 May 2022Project leader awarded for Indigenous water rights research25 Nov 2021Recording of our submission on the draft NBA Bill now available13 Sep 2021Media coverage in July5 Oct 2021Making law to protect the future of our ocean23 Jul 2021Community empowerment in marine spatial planning and EBM2 Dec 2020Welcome to our new project leaders19 May 2020

Related Events

Webinar: Law and policy for marine ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand - where to from here?

Webinar: Developing tools for multi-species fisheries management

Project proposal

279 KB | pdf

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Location

This is a national project.

Tools & Resources

This project has produced or contributed to:

Fisheries: Tools, resources and research
Summary
This is a research round-up of our tools, resources and research that support an EBM approach to fisheries management. It is a living document, and more will be added as they develop. Latest update: 2 August 2021
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Aotearoa New Zealand's key marine legislation
Graphic
This poster shows key pieces of legislation in our marine realm, and where they apply.
View
‘Hooks’ and ‘Anchors’ for relational ecosystem-based marine management
Academic publication
Macpherson E, Urlich S, Rennie HG, Paul A, Fisher K, Braid L, Banwell J, Venturea JT & Jorgensen E. (2021) Marine Policy, 130: 104561
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‘Hooks' and ‘Anchors’ for ecosystem-based management in the marine environment
Summary
This is a summary of a comparative study of EBM in the laws and policies of Chile, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, published June 2021.
View
Te Au o Te Moana story series
Video
This series aims to whakamana (empower) the voices of researchers, co-developers, Māori partners and communities of research and practice associated with Sustainable Seas and their relationship with the moana.
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Te Au o Te Moana | Special webinar series: Improved decision-making for the moana
Presentation
This webinar was presented by project leaders from the theme Enhancing EBM practices. March 2022 (45m + 15m Q&A)
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Seafood: Tools, resources and research
Summary
This is a research round-up of our tools, resources and research that support an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach to the seafood industry (July 2022)
View
Characterising the regulatory seascape in Aotearoa New Zealand: bridging local, regional and national scales for marine ecosystem-based management
Academic publication
Urlich SC, White FR & Rennie HG (2022) Ocean and Coastal Management, 224: 106193
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Broadening environmental governance ontologies to enhance ecosystem-based management in Aotearoa New Zealand
Academic publication
Fisher K, Makey L, Macpherson E, Paul A, Rennie H, Talbot-Jones J & Jorgensen E (September 2022)
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Developing the next generation of marine managers and researchers
Summary
This impact case study describes how our researchers are sharing EBM knowledge and building lasting relationships with students and teachers – inspiring the next generation (August 2021)
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EBM, MSP and MPA: Explained
Video
This short explainer video was created to help clarify the overlap and distinction between EBM, MSP, and MPA, and how they can be used together and individually.
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Characterising the regulatory seascape in Aotearoa New Zealand: Implications for policy and practice
Summary
This is a summary of research into existing legal and policy mechanisms that support implementing EBM at the regional and local scale, published December 2022.
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Exploring the use of a system diagram and multi-variate analysis to understand multi-species complexes in fisheries
Report
This report details exploratory research on using a system diagram and multi-variate analysis to help understand how fisheries management of multi-species complexes could be achieved, and summarises the journey of applying, and the insights from the use of, the first two of these approaches. Connolly, J (May 2022)
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Co-developing an agent-based model to support ecosystem-based management decision-making
Summary
This is a summary of the agent-based modelling (ABM) component of research into its potential for informing ecosystem-based management in fisheries. (August 2022)
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System dynamic mapping and managing multi-species complexes: Key variables and linkages
Summary
This is a summary of research to determine whether system dynamic mapping is a useful exercise for FNZ management purposes, including whether it highlighted problems with specific types of actions. (January 2023)
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Understanding multi species finfish complexes in Tasman and Golden Bay: Process overview and key insights
Summary
This is a summary of the processes behind and key insights from research into understanding multi species finfish complexes. (November 2022)
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Influencing environmental policy
Summary
This impact case study describes how research into ecosystem-based management is helping to shape environmental legislation (August 2022)
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Developing tools for multi-species fisheries management
Presentation
Webinar presentation by Eric Jorgensen, Judi Hewitt (University of Auckland), Justin Connolly (Deliberate), Andrew Allison (NIWA), Jodi Milne (MPI), Carol Scott (Southern Inshore Fisheries) and Karen Middlemiss (DOC), May 2023
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Learning from innovative governance examples to enhance EBM practices
Summary
This is a summary of our research into environmental governance arrangements in Aotearoa New Zealand to identify enabling conditions (or pou) to support EBM.
View
Designing law and policy for the health and resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems – Lessons from (and for) Aotearoa New Zealand
Academic publication
Macpherson E, Jorgensen E, Paul A, Rennie H, Fisher K, Talbot-Jones J, Hewitt J, Allison A, Banwell J & Parkinson A (June 2023)
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Designing law and policy for the health and resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems
Summary
This is a summary of research findings into options for policy and legislative change to enable ecosystem-based management across scales in Aotearoa New Zealand. (July 2023)
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Law and policy for marine ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand - where to from here?
Presentation
Webinar presentation by Elizabeth Macpherson (University of Canterbury), Eric Jorgensen, and Karen Fisher (University of Auckland), August 2023
View
Using research for legislation, policy, and planning for healthy seas
Summary
View
Legal enablers for ecosystem-based management
Summary
Examples of legal enablers for ecosystem-based management (June 2024)
View
Marine governance in Aotearoa
Summary
Summary table (June 2024)
View

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