Aquaculture
Aquaculture in the Auckland region
What is aquaculture?
Aquaculture, also known as marine farming, is the practice of cultivating marine organisms for harvesting and sale.
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The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) is responsible for managing aquaculture within the coastal marine area (CMA), which is the foreshore and seabed below the mean high water springs line, with local councils managing aquaculture on land.
What is being farmed in the Auckland region?
- Green lipped mussels, which are grown in deep water on lines suspended from surface floats.
- Pacific oysters, which are grown on racks or in baskets in the intertidal area, (area between tide marks).
How many marine farms are there?
There are 70 marine farms in the Auckland region. 19 of these are mussel farms with a total consented area of 91.5 hectares, and 51 oyster farms with a total consented area of 250 hectares.
Issues with marine farming
Farming fish and shellfish, in a controlled environment, can reduce the pressure on decreasing wild fish stocks. It also provides local and regional economic benefits.
However aquaculture occupies public space and can impact on values such as:
- recreational boating
- marine ecology, including the plankton depletion, seabed deposits and nutrient enrichment
- views of the open space and public amenity
- public access.
Finding a balance between marine farming, community users, and sustaining the natural and physical resources of the region, is a significant and growing challenge.
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