An oyster farm in Whangaroa Harbour, Northland, New Zealand.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
The New Zealand Government has announced a new plan to grow the country's aquaculture sector to reach NZD $3 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
The New Zealand Aquaculture Development Plan 2025 – 2030 was launched at the weekend by NZ Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones, at the Havelock Mussel and Seafood Festival in Marlborough, New Zealand.
“I’ve never been shy about my ambitions for the aquaculture sector. The Coalition Government is supporting marine farmers to flourish," Minister Jones stated in a press announcement.
“The industry brings in $760m in annual revenue and employs more than 3000 Kiwis. The Development Plan sets out the steps we will take to grow it to a $3b a year industry and double the jobs," Jones added.
Jones highlighted several recent measures to support aquaculture in New Zealand, including extending marine consents, passing the Fast-track Approvals Act, granting final approval for New Zealand’s first open ocean salmon farm, and allocating NZD $11.72 million for a project to advance open ocean aquaculture.
Key factors identified for growth over the next decade include "making the most of existing marine farms, growing production through open ocean aquaculture, supporting Māori leadership in the sector through the aquaculture settlement, farming new species and supporting new technology," according to the official statement.
In a move to support infrastructure critical to this expansion, Minister Jones also announced a NZD $9.9 million loan from the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to upgrade Havelock Marina, described as "a key piece of infrastructure for the mussel industry in Marlborough".
The facility serves as a central hub for the Greenshell™ mussel industry in Marlborough, which accounts for approximately 60% of New Zealand’s exported aquaculture products. On average, Marlborough harvests around 65,000 tonnes of Greenshell™ mussels and 6,000 tonnes of salmon annually, contributing over NZD $300 million in export earnings, per Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans figures.
According to officials, the RIF loan will finance dredging of the Havelock Marina channel and basin to address silt buildup caused by recent storm events, improving access and reducing congestion for commercial vessels and local users. The loan will also fund the replacement of three jetties, supporting greater traffic flow and resilience against flooding and climate change.
Port Marlborough is co-funding the project, which is expected to cost NZD $19.8 million in total. Construction and dredging activities are projected to create up to 54 jobs, the Minister said.
The newly-unveiled aquaculture plan is the latest in a series of government initiatives aimed at developing New Zealand's seafood sector.
The New Zealand government recently opened a public consultation on proposed updates to the country's Fisheries Act, described by Fisheries Minister Shane Jones as the "most significant reforms in the sector for decades".
The proposed changes, according to Jones, are intended to "remove unnecessary regulations that impede productivity and the potential of the sector", and were developed following a seafood industry forum established last year.
New Zealand’s seafood exports are forecast to reach a record NZD $2.2 billion in the year to June 2025, with further growth projected to NZD $2.4 billion the following year, according to the latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report released by New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in December 2024.
