Aquaculture is the raising of plants or animals in water. It can occur in coastal waters, rivers, lakes and in constructed tanks on land.

For aquaculture, MPI has several responsibilities:

• It works to support the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry as outlined in the Government’s Aquaculture Strategy and Five-year Action Plan.
• It is the lead Crown agency responsible for implementing the Maori Aquaculture Settlement.
• It provides decisions on whether coastal permits would have an undue adverse effect on recreational, customary and commercial fishing.
• It is the lead on biosecurity, including working to detect and keep unwanted pests and organisms out of New Zealand’s coastal environment.
• It manages land-based aquaculture [link to new webpage that is pg 42 of this document] and movements of aquatic life on and off land-based fish farms.

It is the lead on providing information and support on food safety issues.

For more information

Visit the MPI Aquaculture section.