New Zealand (NZ) is an island nation of less than five million people, with the Tasman Sea to the west and the South Pacific Ocean to the east. Kiwis pride themselves on punching above their weight and innovating, and our aquaculture industry is no exception.
The NZ industry primarily produces King Salmon (Genus Oncorhynchus), Greenshell™ Mussels (Perna canaliculus), and Pacific Oysters (Magallana gigas), while only making up less than 0.5 percent of global seafood production, the industry has been successful in terms of branding, sustainable practice and working to maximise value from the produce.
The annual Aquaculture New Zealand (AQNZ) Conference returned to Blenheim’s Marlborough Convention Centre, in the Marlborough region of NZ from the 18-19th September this year. The theme for this show was ‘Growing together’, this was reiterated by Bruce Hearn, Chairman of AQNZ, who made the point during his opening address that this is more than a slogan, our industry is case of ‘a rising tide floating all boats’.
The first day of the conference was split between into a salmon and a resilience stream, allowing species specific information to be focused towards the right people, while the second day covered NZ’s aquaculture in a wider sense. There was a number of exciting updates at this year’s show, the launch of NZ Government’s long awaited Aquaculture Strategy, New Zealand King Salmon’s (NZKS) move towards offshore aquaculture, announcements regarding AQNZ’s A+ sustainability report, and plenty of success stories in terms of sustainable practice and value adding.
Marlborough, the heart of New Zealand’s aquaculture industry
The Marlborough region, located at the top of the South Island is a fitting location for the conference as it is home to more than half of NZ’s production of Pacific Salmon and Greenshell™ Mussels, and it is also a major producer of Pacific Oysters. This region truly is the heart of NZ’s aquaculture. Marlborough Mayor John Leggett, who is pro-aquaculture gave an opening welcome address.
“World famous wine, garlic, pine-nuts, premium summer fruits, and right up there at the top table is our kaimoana (te reo Māori for seafood), premium quality is the common denominator, this is what you get with the Marlborough label,” said Mr Leggett.
Mr Leggett announced at last year’s conference that collaboration was going to be the most efficient way to make progress on the complex challenges of seabed health and water quality. This year he commented that he was pleased to see that industry and community had been working alongside each other in developing a mutual understanding.
“I attended the Marine Farmer’s Association AGM a few weeks ago, it was gratifying to hear the positive feedback, it was a seismic shift from the mood a few years ago. I would like to thank the participants in our aquaculture working group which has helped draft the aquaculture chapter in Marlborough’s new environment plan. It has been a very constructive approach and I hope we are in a position to discuss the results soon,” said Mr Leggett.
The Marlborough region is also home to a number of organisations and institutes that support and engage with aquaculture. Including the Cawthron Aquaculture Park research facility, and the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) which is a tertiary level education institute with qualifications dedicated to aquaculture.
Read more, HERE.
The Aquaculturists
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