Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the raising of plants or animals in water. It can occur in coastal waters, rivers, lakes and in constructed tanks on land.

The Government supports well-planned and sustainable aquaculture growth in New Zealand and is committed to enabling industry to achieve its goal of $1 billion in annual sales by 2025. An essential part of this commitment is to ensure aquaculture growth takes place within acceptable environmental limits and respects other uses and values of our waterways and marine environment.

For aquaculture, MPI has several responsibilities:

• It works to support the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry as outlined in the Government’s Aquaculture Strategy and Five-year Action Plan.
• It is the lead Crown agency responsible for implementing the Māori Aquaculture Settlement.
• It provides decisions on whether coastal permits would have an undue adverse effect on recreational, customary and commercial fishing.
• It is the lead on biosecurity, including working to detect and keep unwanted pests and organisms out of New Zealand’s coastal environment.
• It is the lead on providing information and support on food safety issues.

Marine-based aquaculture

New Zealand’s marine-based aquaculture legislation provides a framework for the aquaculture industry and other stakeholders.

Land-based aquaculture

Land-based farming is managed under the provisions of the Freshwater Fish Farming Regulations 1983.

For more information

The New Zealand government has an aquaculture website that is managed by the Ministry. The site includes information on the environmental effects of aquaculture, regional planning, Māori development, industry development and farmed species.