Mussels farm, New Zealand.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
New Zealand's Oceans and Fisheries Minister, Shane Jones, said that another piece of red tape potentially curtailing the growth of the aquaculture industry has been cut with the passing of a bill that protects marine farmers from costly consent reviews.
Although announced now, the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill, which restricts local councils' ability to use section 128 of the Resource Management Act to review coastal permit conditions until September 2030, was passed last month.
"We've set the ambitious goal for the aquaculture industry to generate NZD 3 billion in annual revenue by 2035. The Coalition Government is doing its part by providing a regulatory environment where this kind of growth is possible," Minister Jones stated.
"This removes a bureaucratic barrier that potentially undermined efforts to grow aquaculture. Our marine farmers should be using their time, energy and funds to innovate and grow rather than engaging in tick-box exercises with overzealous regulators," he continued.
This change announced now follows last year's Resource Management (Extended Duration of Coastal Permits for Marine Farms) Amendment Bill, which extended existing coastal permits for the country's 1,200 marine farms by 20 years. The New Zealand Government thus provided aquaculture farmers with some reprieve from costly permit renewal processes, although the extension will not allow permits to run beyond 2050.
Last year's amendment also introduced a new process for councils to review the terms of marine farm consents with some restrictions, such as councils covering the costs of the review, and only one review per consent being allowed.
Available until September 2030, this process means that a review of conditions can occur when absolutely necessary, while reducing the impact of reviews on marine producers.
"These changes are allowing marine farmers to focus on growing their operations, hiring more Kiwis and bringing in more export dollars, rather than dealing with endless red tape and costs stemming from an inefficient permitting process," New Zealand's Oceans and Fisheries Minister, Shane Jones, concluded.
As the 12-month period ending June 30, 2025, was about to expire, New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries released the expected results of NZ aquaculture exports over the past year. The figures showed that, for that period, aquaculture products were expected to generate NZD 650 million in export revenue, representing a 13% increase year-on-year.
The current New Zealand Coalition Government is convinced that aquaculture is a sector with potential for massive growth over the next decade - Minister Jones has even called it "a ticket to greater prosperity"- which is why cutting red tape on marine farming consents is not the only action it has taken to support the industry.
In parallel with these measures to remove bureaucratic barriers, New Zealand's Oceans and Fisheries Ministry has also taken other steps, such as establishing new Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) to help ensure that Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi (tribe) on the South Island, participates in the opportunities that aquaculture offers to the Southland economy, or backing offshore aquaculture as a way to guarantee the future of salmon farming in the country.
In addition, it has also supported several initiatives related to aquaculture based on native species, such as the breeding of snapper suitable for commercial fish farming - known as the super snapper project -, or support for a mussel spat project to increase survival rates of New Zealand mussels.