November 07, 2023
Hauraki kingfish farm gets tick
Hauraki iwi have the go ahead to establish a kingfish farm mid-way between Coromandel and Waiheke Island.
Pare Hauraki Kaimoana chair Paul Majurey says the iwi have had aquaculture ventures going back to the 1970s, when members established some of the first mussel farms.
Before making a resource consent application for the 300 hectare farm, it compiled years of water monitoring, scientific research and matauranga to show the effects of fin fish farming in the Hauraki Gulf can be managed.
“We told the Waikato Regional Council we weren’t in a hurry to get this done. We wanted to do it right so we wanted to make sure the applications were notified, that there was full ability for the public to have their say and we also didn’t take a fast track process because we wanted to take this step by step,” Mr Majurey says.
Pare Hauraki Kaimoana has 10 years to take up the 35 year consents, and it’s looking for capital partners to help with the project, which is expected to cost between $30 million and $50 million.