The New Zealand government plans to invest NZD 924,000 ($620,650) in the thriving aquaculture industry of the Coromandel region.
Written by: editorial / Undercurrent news
Shane Jones, New Zealand’s minister for regional economic development, said in an announcement on Dec. 26 that the money, taken from the country’s NZD 3 billion ($2.01bn) provincial growth fund, would be spent on developing Coromandel’s aquaculture and marine services.
In particular, the funding is aimed at reducing the region’s shortage of boat ramps and ‘all-tide’ facilities.
According to Jones, NZD 558,000 ($375,000) will be spent on improvements to Sugarloaf Wharf, where the rapid growth in the country’s aquaculture demand makes expansion of the available facilities a necessary first step.
In addition, NZD 93,850 ($63,000) will be put towards the Coromandel Marine Gateway while NZD 270,000 ($181,000) will be given to the Kopu Marine Precinct.
Jones expects aquaculture production in Coromandel to double within the next 10 to 15 years, with a potential to create 550 new jobs.
New Zealand’s aquaculture has grown by 70% in the past seven years, and the Coromandel funding follows the announcement of an NZD 500,000 ($338,000) government grant for a salmon hatchery near Invercargill on Dec. 20.
Situated on the northern edge of New Zealand’s North Island, the Coromandel Peninsula supplies roughly 26% of the country’s green shell mussels and 24% of its Pacific oysters.
Source: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2018/12/31/nz-govt-invests-nearly-nzd-1m-in-regional-aquaculture-industry/
