Cultured Species
There are three main species in the New Zealand aquaculture industry: the green-lipped mussel, the Pacific oyster and king salmon. In 2006 these three species generated $357 million in sales. Mussel accounted for 63 percent of this value, Pacific oysters 9 percent and king salmon 28 percent.
| Value of farmed species in 2006 (NZ$ million) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common name | Scientific name | Domestic | Export | Total |
| Green lipped mussel | Perna canaliculus | 43 | 181 | 224 |
| Pacific oyster | Crassostrea gigas | 14 | 18 | 32 |
| King salmon | Oncorhynchus tshawytscha | 59 | 42 | 101 |
| Totals | 116 | 241 | 357 | |
| Locality of farmed species, 2005 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Farms (number) |
Area (ha) |
Production (tonnes) |
Locality |
| Green lipped mussel | 550 | 4500 | Particularly the top of the South Island, Pelorus Sounds, Tasman and Golden bays; but also the Hauraki Gulf and Coromandel, with a small number around Banks Peninsula and Stewart Island. | |
| Pacific oyster | 236 | 928 | North coast of the North Island: Coromandel, Bay of Islands and the Whangaroa, Mahurangi and Kaipara Harbours. | |
| King salmon | 29 | 128 | 7,400 | Mostly Marlborough Sounds and around Stewart Island, but also in channels below hydroelectric dams in the Mackenzie Basin. |
Over two-thirds of New Zealand's aquaculture product comes from mussels and oysters. These shellfish are cultivated in two distinct stages; first spat needs to be collected, then the spat is grown in a grow-out facility.
- Spat, also called seed, is the free-swimming larval stage of a shellfish. Spat is cultured in hatcheries, and can be grown in tanks on land. Hatcheries can also be associated with research facilities where spat can be selectively bred to specifications, as broodstock.
- A grow-out facility is the place where the spat are raised to market size, usually in enclosures anchored in coastal waters.
Read more about this topic: Aquaculture In New Zealand
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