A new hatchery has been built at Cawthron Aquaculture Park near Nelson to improve understanding of New Zealand scampi and establish the world’s first captive breeding program for the species.
The project is led by Cawthron Institute in collaboration with Waikawa Fishing Company, University of Auckland and Zebra-Tech. They hope to refocus the New Zealand scampi industry from frozen commodity production, to live export trade to realise its estimated $200 million annual export potential. Current annual New Zealand export earnings from scampi are $21m but the team believe the potential for the sector is far greater.
The initiative is part of a Government-funded six-year research project to develop more sustainable, commercially attractive harvesting methods for New Zealand scampi, and establish land-based aquaculture systems for domestication.
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