Aquaculture Planning Fund

A helping hand for regional councils

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

The Government set up the Aquaculture Planning Fund (APF) to help the aquaculture industry achieve its goal of $3 billion in sales by 2035.

The fund supports regional councils to plan for sustainable aquaculture growth and development including:

• allocating space
• creating zones for new consent applications
• provisions for new species
• provisions to do with environmental impacts
• research on information and advice that supports decision-making and improves reconsenting provisions and processes.

All applications are assessed by an independent panel. The panel recommends which applications should be funded. Using the panel's recommendations, we then make funding decisions.

Applying for funding

Councils can apply for funding any time during the year. Use this form to apply:

Aquaculture Planning Fund: Application form [DOCX, 220 KB]

Email the completed form to info@mpi.govt.nz

This document has information on making an application, including the assessment criteria:

Aquaculture Planning Fund: Applicant guidelines [PDF, 512 KB]

Find out more

Aquaculture Planning Fund: Framework and funding criteria [PDF, 171 KB]

Aquaculture Planning Fund: Expenditure budget form [XLSX, 28 KB]

Funded projects from previous rounds

Who to contact

If you have questions about the Aquaculture Planning Fund, email info@mpi.govt.nz