Aquaculture grants positive for Bay of Plenty sector
The awarding of four grants for aquaculture programmes by the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) is an extremely positive development for New Zealand's aquaculture sector, says the chairman of the Bay of Plenty Regional Aquaculture Organisation action group, Graeme Coates.
This is the first time that the aquaculture sector has been able to apply to the SFF for grants, following the merger of two Government organisations into the Ministry of Primary Industries. Mr Coates says the introduction of aquaculture to the SFF is further reinforcement of the Government's commitment to the development of the sector.
The four aquaculture programmes receiving grants from SFF are the Blue Mussel Over-Settlement Project (Marine Farming Association Inc), Oyster Industry Modernisation Project (Aquaculture New Zealand and New Zealand Oyster Industry Association), Environmental Certification for New Zealand Aquaculture (Aquaculture New Zealand), and the Kaitaia Spat Working Group Project (Marine Farming Association Inc).
Mr Coates says even though the four projects do not specifically involve Bay of Plenty aquaculture operations, all four are of strong interest to the local Bay of Plenty industry and will have long-term relevance to the local sector.
Aquaculture has been identified as a key focus area under the Bay of Connections regional economic development strategy. An Aquaculture sector strategy was released in 2009, with the Regional Aquaculture Organisation established in 2010 to oversee and implement the actions of the strategy.
"The aquaculture sector is in its infancy in the wider Bay of Plenty region, but it is a sector that has the potential to make a significant contribution to the local economy.
"Research has determined that the Bay of Plenty waters are amongst the most productive in New Zealand, with opportunities existing for large scale ocean and freshwater marine farms to farm a range of different species for local consumption and export.
"There are a number of key aquaculture projects well underway in the Bay of Plenty. The Environmental Certification programme in particular will be important for our future aquaculture sector, as it will provide the future certification structure that will be a benchmark for any regional operations producing for domestic or international markets," says Mr Coates.
He says the oyster programme is looking at the recovery of oyster aquaculture operations following the spread of a herpes disease.
"Fortunately this disease has not presented in the Bay of Plenty, however, it has been identified in Coromandel, which is nearby. So obviously we are very interested in how this research progresses and any learnings that we can introduce ourselves.
"There will also be learnings for us from the mussel and spat projects, and we will continue to liaise with our colleagues around New Zealand on these programmes."
The next meeting of the Regional Aquaculture Organisation is on 13 June, 2012.
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