Marine farming, or aquaculture, is a fast growing and lucrative industry, which has increased the demand for coastal marine areas that are suitable for this type of activity. Regional councils and the Ministry of Fisheries are responsible for planning for marine farms and assessing the impact of them on the coastal environment.
Recent legislation has introduced reforms to address these problems. The new legislation requires regional councils to identify Aquaculture Management Areas (AMAs) which are zones suitable for marine farming in their region.
In Hawke's Bay, demand for aquaculture space is not great at present and environmental conditions are not thought to be highly suitable for aquaculture activities.
Currently, we do not have any fully operating marine farms in our region, however Napier Mussels Ltd have been granted consent to develop a 2806 ha greenlipped mussel farm approximately 5.5 km offshore of Waipatiki Beach. This area has been identified as an 'AMA'. Another AMA is created for the much smaller 4ha area on the western coast of Mahia Peninsula (near Long Point). It is notable that the majority of marine farms in New Zealand coastal waters are located in sheltered near-shore waters. Hawke's Bay has a predominantly open exposed coastline with sheltered areas restricted to shallow tidal estuaries. Though deep water marine farming does occur elsewhere in the country, it is not common, and it is therefore likely that there will be few future applications for marine farming in this region, at least until the technology and economic viability of open coast marine farming are tested.
For information on applying for a consent for a marine farm link to our CONSENTS page.
For more information on marine farming or Aquaculture Management Areas see the Ministry of Fisheries website.