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AMA Project

Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Aquaculture Management Area Project began in 2002. The project's goal is to identify opportunities for AMAs in the Bay of Plenty region.

The project is made up of two parts - Coastal Use and Value Maps; and the Offshore Science Project. Together they will give us a good understanding of the Bay of Plenty marine area and help us to decide where new AMAs might go.

Coastal Use and Value Maps

Coastal Use and Value Maps (previously called Offshore Use Maps) show all the values and uses associated with the Bay of Plenty coast, e.g. commercial shipping lanes, marine reserves and culturally significant areas. By mapping these, it gives a good picture of where it might be appropriate to have an AMA.

A set of draft maps went through an intensive consultation process between November 2005 and March 2006. The consultation included a mail out to more than 250 people and interest groups, four public workshops, and numerous hui and presentations. Due to the amount of feedback received, it was a lengthy process to go through all the suggested changes and to complete the maps, but they are now finished.

If you would like a hard copy of the maps, please contact us at Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Offshore Science Project

The Offshore Science Project has looked at things like the ecological effects of aquaculture and the amount of food (phytoplankton) in the water.

One of the tools being used in the research is a wave buoy.  The wave buoy sits 13 km off the coast of Pukehina and gathers data on the ocean's current and waves. The buoy will continue to collect data for a number of years. Follow the link to find the measurements the Wave Buoy is taking.

Field surveys from mid 2003 through to 2004 intensively sampled things like seafloor sediments, water chemistry, seafloor biology and phytoplankton. During the same period a current meter and temperature sensors were also used at a number of locations.

The information collected from the field surveys, current meter and temperature sensors helped with the development of models by ASR Limited to predict productivity and the impact of aquaculture.

The following are the completed field survey reports:

Primary production modelling and impacts of AMAs on productivity

We also had the hydrodynamic and primary production modelling reports peer reviewed as follows:

If you have trouble downloading any of these reports, we can provide you with a CD of the reports in PDF format.

For more information

If you have any questions on the AMA Project please contact us on the details below.