About Ngā Punga o te Moana

Unlocking the farming potential of the open ocean

Expanding our aquaculture industry into the open ocean

The Cawthron Institute-led open ocean aquaculture research programme, Ngā Punga o te Moana (‘anchors of the sea’) is a five-year (2021-2026) national research programme. Financed through the New Zealand government’s Endeavour Fund, the project aims to tackle these challenges to enable our aquaculture industry’s expansion into the open ocean.

The New Zealand government is a key stakeholder in this project, and policy settings are in development with the government’s Aquaculture Strategy and MPI’s Fit for a Better World calling specifically for acceleration of OOA growth.

Key outputs of this project will include:

Designing new open ocean farming structures for shellfish and seaweed
Understanding the challenging open ocean environment using advanced data science and modelling capability
Understanding which species have the most potential by studying their biology and physiology and learning how to farm them
Developing remote monitoring technologies for offshore farms that enhance the efficiency of farming operations
Establishing an industry that reflects the values and aspirations of our people, specifically Māori, and de-risks new OOA ventures by providing proof of concept.