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Ōpōtiki College Year 10 student Ngaio Wood examining a nudibranch/sea slug at Ōpape Beach during the Cawthron’s Inspiring Aquaculture programme near Ōpōtiki last December. Aquaculture education and training is on track to be a key part of Ōpōtiki College’s programme in 2024 after the success of the first Cawthron-organized Ahumoana Whakahihiko (Inspiring Aquaculture) programme last December. During the first of its kind offering, held during the School’s Wananga (Activities) week, 14 Year 10 students were exposed, over four days and 14 separate activities, to the aquaculture industry’s key skills and knowledge including, shellfish analysis, husbandry, processing and food preparation alongside

Open ocean oyster farming is one step closer to becoming commercially viable thanks to a new trial facilitated through the national Ngā Punga o te Moana open ocean aquaculture research programme.

This work is part of a two-piece contribution on novel marine aquaculture technology and details physical laboratory tests of a new cultivation system for bivalve farming called “Shellfish Tower”. The tests were conducted to prove the feasibility and functionality of this aquaculture system, which is usable for the collection and cultivation of mussel spat as well as for the grow-out of oysters, scallops, and seaweed in marine environments. 

A recently published study has shown that an innovative new open ocean aquaculture structure is a promising solution for marine farming of shellfish and other species in exposed waters.

The purpose of this publication is to perform a system analysis of new cultivation technology for exposed bivalve farming. The technical feasibility of the new construction, called Shellfish Tower, was assessed. The device has gone through several very different phases of development on its way to the deployment of the prototype.

Cawthron Institute has received government funding to deliver two strategic and impactful research programmes.

This paper presents a brief overview of the potential zones for open ocean aquaculture, the influence of climate change, and two potential shellfish operational systems that may facilitate the expansion of shellfish aquaculture onto New Zealand’s exposed ocean sites.

A trial of new open ocean farming structures for oysters is currently underway off the coast of Ōpōtiki on Whakatōhea Mussels marine farm.