Tourism operators will be charged concession fees when entering marine protected areas, according to the Government latest proposal

The Ministry for the Environment in New Zealand aim to improve the Marine Reserves Act 1971, by including four marine protected area types under the protection and management of a new law.

Consequently, tourism operators consider the Government's measure inappropriate, inequitable and unconstitutional. If the officials implement a concession system similar to the country's land concessions at the Department of Conservation (DOC), then operators will pay 7 per cent of its gross income to enter marine protected areas.

Te Korowai, representing New Zealand's main commercial fishing and tourism industry operators on the island has raised concerns on the initiative. In their opinion, the project cannot be applied by following the same DOC strategy.

Larnce Wichman, Te Korowai's chairman, stated: "There is so much unknown. We agree with the review, but the government needs to allow time for it to evolve because there are so many sectors involved."

The nature of the official proposal was found to be vague and unspecific and it was considered to undermine years of collaborative work between Te Korowai and governmental marine management and conservation projects.

The Kaikoura District Council via its representative Rachel Vaughan lodged a submission concerning the lack of compatibility between the two normative acts, due to economy versus protection imbalance.