Industry welcomes Government announcements
“I’ve never been shy about my ambitions for the aquaculture sector. The Coalition Government is supporting marine farmers to flourish.”
Industry welcomes Government announcements
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones set the scene at the Havelock Mussel and Seafood festival on Saturday 8th March with some major announcements which were warmly welcomed by the aquaculture industry.
Mr Jones launched the New Zealand Aquaculture Development Plan 2025 – 2030 which is a roadmap for growing our industry to $3 billion in annual revenue by 2035, a target that has been in place since 2019.
The plan identifies four key areas for growth: making the most of existing marine farms, growing production using open ocean aquaculture, supporting Māori leadership in the sector through the aquaculture settlement, and implementing new species and technologies.
The plan will be led by Fisheries New Zealand, who will partner with industry, Māori, councils, communities, and relevant Government agencies to achieve sustainable growth.
He also announced a loan of nearly $10 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to improve Havelock Marina, a key piece of infrastructure for the mussel industry in Marlborough.
The marina supports various aquaculture activities, including processing, maintenance, and support services. The funding will be used to dredge the marina channel and basin to enable safe and unrestricted access for commercial users and residents.
Storm events in 2021 and 2022 resulted in silt building up in the channel, reducing the depth at low tide and reducing vessel movements - causing congestion and limiting access to services.
Construction of three replacement jetties will enable increased traffic and minimise impacts of flooding and climate change. The construction and dredging work will generate up to 54 jobs.
“The current situation at Havelock is an unacceptable roadblock to growth; this RIF funding will help unlock access to the marina for commercial use as well as provide the local community with an alternative, resilient access,” Mr Jones says.
The total cost of the project is $19.8m, which includes $9.9m co-funding from Port Marlborough.
You can read the full Government press release here or watch the video of Minister Jones' opening speech at the Havelock Mussel and Seafood Festival.