Southland aquaculture industry granted $8m loan from Provincial Growth Fund

Friday, 24 July 2020

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has announced an $8m loan from the Provincial Growth Fund for the Southland’s aquaculture industry.

Southland’s aquaculture industry has received an $8 million loan from the Provincial Growth Fund to develop a salmon hatchery in the deep south.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones made the announcement on Friday.

The funding will enable Sanford Limited to construct the first stage of a modular land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) salmon hatchery for the growing of Chinook (King) salmon at Ocean Beach in Bluff.

“This is excellent news for the people of Southland and proof of our Government’s commitment to diversifying the regional economy,” Peters said.

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Aqauculture has been identified as a potential growth industry for Southland and an important player in creating new jobs following the expected closure of Tiwai Point’s aluminium smelter next year.

Peters believed the PGF support would help bring business confidence back to Southland and create long term permanent jobs in Bluff and Stewart Island/Rakiura.

“The project is expected to create 81 direct jobs during the construction and more than 240 indirect jobs and, once at full production, 54 direct and 163 indirect jobs,” Jones said.

Jones said the RAS hatchery would act as a springboard for wider salmon farm development in the region and open ocean farms.

Work on this project is expected to get underway as soon as October, Jones said.

“The capacity of the salmon hatchery will be built up in stages, with the first stage having the capability to produce up to 1.5 million smolt.

A Smolt is a stage of a salmon lifecycle that is getting ready to go out to sea.

“The company has an immediate need for about 1 million of the initial smolt production for its salmon farm on Stewart Island/Rakiura and the balance of 500,000 smolt will be available to be sold at commercial rates to other industry players.’’

Southland Aquaculture Working Group chairman Mark O’Connor said the hatchery was an important first step but more was needed.

”Moving forward, for the hatchery to expand and the industry to get real gains … there needs to be Government input, a legislation change, and [assistance with] trialling open-ocean farm infrastructure.”

While in Invercargill last week, Finance Minister Grant Robertson pointed to aquaculture as an industry that could help Southland’s economy recover from the closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.

“We’ve been working with the people of Southland for the last three years with a number of different projects, both through the Provincial Growth Fund, and more widely supporting things in the broader aquaculture area where we’ve established our aquaculture strategy.’’