Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Gary Hooper: Aquaculture NZ CEO on the Government's financial boost for salmon farming

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Gary Hooper: Aquaculture NZ CEO on the Government's financial boost for salmon farming · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The government's betting our aquaculture will go from strength to strength.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: That's putting almost twelve million dollars into salmon farming mainly
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: to expand it to deep water and to prove that
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: it all works. If it does, it's thought it could
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: increase salmon exports by five hundred million dollars. So Aquaculture
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: New Zealand CEO Gary Hooper has got up early for us.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Good morning to hear Gary.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Oh, good morning, Andrew, good morning.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: So tell me about deep water salmon farming and how
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: will this money help.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm pleased. It was great news yesterday and of
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: course this is a good news water story. In contrary
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: to what's happening in Wellington, it seems look a wonderful announcement.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Eleven point seven million co invested in a program. It's
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: a five year program. The total programs twenty nine million
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: dollars in this with New Zealand King Salmon's Blue Endeavor
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: project in the top end just just off or seven
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: kilometers off the northern end of the Marlboro Sounds. And
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: it is a essentially a proof of commercial pilot and
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: there's three elements to it. Is the farming system, a
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: new freshwater hatchery using RAS technology, recirculating aquaculture system technology,
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: So that's novel, and of course is the breeding components
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: as well, to ensure we get the most resilient and
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: productive fish farms out there. The five hundred million dollar experts,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I think that's pretty conservative. When this system, when this
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: farms up and running, and there are others in the pipeline,
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: could be up to fifty or sixty thousand tons in total.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: That would when it's all up and running, that would
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: be well in excess of a billion dollars. So I
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: think five hundred million by twenty thirty five that's probably conservative,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: but also quite realistic.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: If you're saying twelve million from the government, thirty million
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: dollar spent, so many a billion dollars coming in. If
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: it's such a good investment, why hasn't the private sector
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: been getting stuck in?
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: So this is a pioneering activity and it's kind of
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: new anywhere. You know the handful of countries that are
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: fortunate enough to be able to farm salmon because of
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: their know they have appropriate water conditions, et cetera. Traditionally
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: it's been in sheltered, enclosed waters. The move to salmon
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: farming and expansion of salmon farming. And New Zealand's not
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: the only country with ambitions, but likely future growth is
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: to be in the open water conditions. Are you know,
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: obviously more energized out there, and new systems need to
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: be developed to achieve that.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Are there any not without.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Sorry, it has its challenges and look the reason the
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: governments are getting behind it not only is that the
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: export growth opportunity, but the experience and the learnings, you know,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: the systems that will be developed can be passed on
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: to other entrants. And bear in mind one of the
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: quite unique situations that New Zealand has is any new aquaculture.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: So any new aquaculture has a commercial mari commercial agriculture
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: settlement component. So in many ways, e we are hardwired
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: into the opportunity and so that's kind of a unique
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: element too. And anything that we can help de risk
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: that and accelerate the development has to be a good thing.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Well, we love an increase in exports, don't we. Gary Hooper,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: who's from Aquaculture and New Zealand, he's the CEO, Thank
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: you so much for joining us. For more from earlier
• 3:54
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• 3:57
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• 4:00
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