Capitalising on fledgling industries

Regional economic growth is a priority for myself and the Government and as such, I am pleased to report progress.

Aquaculture is a growing industry worldwide and the Southland Regional Development Strategy (SoRDS) group has identified salmon farming as a potential economic growth opportunity for Southland. New Zealand’s salmon industry is worth about $100 million to the country’s economy and 20 per cent of the salmon produced nationally comes from Stewart Island. The opportunity is there to increase these numbers and the demand for goodquality, fresh-farmed salmon is high.

New Zealand’s aquaculture industry has a goal of $1 billion by 2025, with the Government supporting that goal. By playing a significant part in the success of this industry and by ensuring we follow best practice, the opportunity is there for Southland to be a major stakeholder in that success.

Recently I travelled as part of a delegation to attend the Aquavision conference in Stavanger, Norway. The conference looked at technological advancement, best practice, regulation, social licence and sustainability in aquaculture. Norway is similar in size to New Zealand but produces 75 times as much finfish. By creating an additional 100ha of salmon farms (10ha of surface structure) $145m in revenue could potentially be generated.

But it’s not all about the numbers. By taking a collaborative approach and working together with SoRDS, iwi, local government, the community and other stakeholders ensures we look at what options are achievable and will have the lowest impact on the environment.

Salmon farming, however, has a very low carbon footprint with minimal environmental impact and this is key to ensuring a sus- tainable product for future generations. Even Bellona, the environmental watchdog in Norway has come out publicly in support of aquaculture as a sustainable method to feed the world.

The Government has backed the preliminary research proposal which is a partnership project between our SoRDS group, Ngai Tahu and MPI to look at the potential viability of various coastal sites around Southland. Once the scientific evidence is gathered as to feasibility, further analysis will be completed on the social impacts. There is still some way to go before even the first steps are taken to open up space in Southland for aquaculture expansion but the statistics are clear – every hectare of space for salmon farming, it creates around 22 jobs and $13m in revenue. This is about creating opportunity for our families in Southland without compromising our very special environment in which we make a living and recreate in.

I am also thrilled to support another conservation initiative of this Government with the launch of Predator Free NZ 2050.

This week the Government announced an initial $28m for the programme, which will see public, private, iwi and community sectors working together to help protect our native species. This is a ground-breaking initiative and the most ambitious conservation project attempted anywhere in the world.

The programme is about harnessing the strength of local communities to achieve a predatorfree country, so I urge everyone who’s keen to help achieve the goal to get involved.