Examples of other specialised aquaculture facilities

Examples of hatcheries around New Zealand

In New Zealand we have a number of very new, special and unique hatcheries. As of 2022, there are hatcheries operating for King Salmon and 2 key species of New Zealand shellfish:

King Salmon
There are several hatcheries around the country which provide smolt (juvenile fish) which are then stocked into the farms. Most of the world farms Atlantic salmon, so in New Zealand we are pretty unique to be farming Chinnok Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Therefore the hatcheries are pretty unique too.

Mussels: SpatNZ
Greenshell™ mussels (Perna canaliculus) are unique to New Zealand making them one of our most iconic seafood heroes. Until now, New Zealand’s mussel growers have relied on catching wild spat (baby mussels) around our coastline. We are pioneering natural, selective breeding of Greenshell™ mussels so our growers have the spat they need to grow the best mussels in the world. Based in Nelson.

Oysters: Moana

Based in Nelson, a nursery and now a state of the art hatchery as well. New Zealand Pacific Oysters (sp. Crassostrea Gigas) are deep shelled and evenly shaped producing plump meat and fresh, crisp flavours with a sweet creamy finish. They are farmed naturally in harbours throughout New Zealand’s Northland, Hauraki Gulf and Marlborough Sounds. These specially selected sites contain cool, pure, nutrient rich waters that grow a distinctly flavoured oyster perfectly suited for raw/sashimi consumption.

And there are many more on the way – New Zealand has development plans for more salmon hatcheries, more mussel hatcheries and another oyster hatchery and watch this space there may be seaweed hatcheries popping up soon! ##Focus on Seaweed

New Zealand’s growing seaweed sector

Seaweed has a growing number of applications across different industries and as the western world begins to really understand the various benefits seaweeds have to offer, Aotearoa New Zealand is well placed to fill those needs.

More information about building a seaweed economy

Optional – Exploration into Seaweed Aquaculture with Learn NZ and Sustainable Seas.
If you would like to learn more about seaweed in New Zealand, travel online to Kaikōura and Whakatū (Nelson) with LEARNZ and Sustainable Seas Challenge to discover why seaweed is a wonder crop of the future: – how local communities could benefit environmentally, socially, culturally and economically from a thriving seaweed sector – how research, science and innovation are helping develop seaweed aquaculture in Aotearoa–New Zealand – The Seaweed Aquaculture with Learn NZ and Sustainable Seas course can be found here.

A blue economy success story: AgriSea is turning seaweed into an ocean of opportunity