New Knowledge
There are knowledge gaps currently preventing investors and marine farmers from embracing open ocean aquaculture. We will overcome this barrier by identifying and filling these gaps.
Learning about the ocean environment
We plan to leverage existing knowledge and investment in technology to support the Aotearoa New Zealand aquaculture industry's expansion into the open ocean.
Ngā Punga o te Moana programme leaders Cawthron Institute also lead the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge’s ‘Precision Aquaculture spearhead project’, which has produced a variety of remote monitoring technologies that will be refined in our Programme's research and development activities.
Cawthron researchers have also gained knowledge and capability through their involvement in the 'Data Science for Aquaculture' Strategic Science Investment Fund platform, Cawthron’s Shellfish Aquaculture Strategic Science Investment Fund platform, and Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge projects. This know-how will be an asset to Ngā Punga o te Moana.
We also plan to leverage global capability through key collaborations with both domestic and international research partners.
Once we have collated the knowledge we currently hold, we will be able to identify gaps, and decide which are the most important to address through new research and development.
The technology we will develop, and the knowledge it will generate, will have benefits beyond its application in aquaculture. It may even have the potential to create new export revenue in and of itself.
Finally, we expect investment in this Programme to have great flow on effects for local economies through direct employment on farms, in processing facilities, and in support industries including farm installation, equipment manufacture, monitoring technologies, and boat building.
Learning about the species we want to farm
A major reason why OOA is such an attractive opportunity for Aotearoa New Zealand’s aquaculture industry is because it can support the diversification of our farmed species, enabling multi-species shellfish and new seaweed OOA industries to emerge.
Seaweed
There is a global buzz about the potential of seaweed as a new, high-growth, high-value primary production industry. Seaweed can be used in a wide-range of products and solutions including ‘green’ protein-based foods, pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, fertilisers and industrial products.
Seaweed is poised to be a significant aquaculture industry for New Zealand, and this programme will help initiate this new industry and develop open ocean seaweed aquaculture.
Shellfish
New Zealand’s shellfish aquaculture industry is extremely well-regarded world-wide and represents a significant share of our overall seafood industry exports. However, shellfish OOA in Aotearoa New Zealand is currently limited to one company (Whakatōhea Mussels) and one species (Greenshell™Mussel). If we are to grow this sector, we need to diversify the species of shellfish we farm and generate new opportunities for marine farmers and investors.
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