Heading Offshore: New Challenges for Sustainable Shellfish Aquaculture

• Main Authors: Batstone, Chris, Heaseman, Kevin, Keeleey, Nigel, Knight, Ben
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade
• Subjects: Sustainable aquaculture; Shellfish culture; Pacific; New Zealand; Hawke Bay; Crassostrea gigas
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/4q77fs27p

As climate change awareness grows, embedded carbon has become an issue for affluent first world seafood consumers concerned with environmental sustainability. Diminishing wild fish stocks and rising fuel costs mean capture fisheries are becoming less attractive sources of product for seafood marketers with investment in brands. In the light of these considerations, aquaculture, in particular shellfish culture, becomes more attractive. However in many jurisdictions social, recreational, environmental and property rights constraints limit the expansion of aquaculture production in sheltered coastal waters. Opportunities previously considered not viable in the waters of continental shelf areas are now under consideration for industry development that addresses emerging sustainability requirements of seafood brands. This paper describes a current research project in New Zealand waters that takes a bioeconomic approach to the valuation of the culture of three bivalve shellfish species in relatively high energetic maritime conditions of Hawke Bay off the south eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. The project uses mid water suspended long line technology to conduct trial cultures of greenshell mussels (Perna canaliculus), pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas), and scallops (Pecten novaezealandiae) 6km offshore in exposed South Pacific Ocean waters. The principal outcomes of the project are that successful offshore operations cannot be approached simply as an extension of coastal production. In particular, consistent with theory development in the field, the evaluation of refinements to organisms in a real options framework shows clearly the economic importance of organism development through selective breeding for the viability of mid-water offshore shellfish aquaculture. Keywords: South Pacific Ocean, Environmental sustainability, Seafood consumers, Bivalve shellfish, Embedded carbon, Fisheries Economics, Offshore shellfish aquaculture, New Zealand