Sustainable
New Zealand aquaculture is one of the most efficient and sustainable forms of food production on the planet!
Low carbon footprint
It’s official, our farmed seafood have low carbon footprints!
To understand the sustainability and carbon footprint of our three species, independent environmental consultancy, thinkstep-anz, carried out two Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in-depth studies - one for our farmed Greenshell™ mussels and Pacific oysters and another for our King salmon.
These two studies showed that all three species have significantly lower carbon footprints compared to other forms of animal protein. Click on the button below to read these summary reports.
Sustainability is our A+ game
We have developed a world class sustainability programme called A+.
Our farmers have signed up to these world-leading sustainable aquaculture standards and are on a journey of continual improvement.
The 2023 A+ Sustainability Report provides an overview of our achievements in the A+ Programme for the previous calendar year, other environmental initiatives we have underway, and outlines the next steps we are taking on our sustainable aquaculture journey.
Guardians
With hundreds of farmers on the water every day, we are New Zealand’s frontline guardians of our waterways, cleaning beaches, monitoring and testing waters and the seabed and deploying strict biosecurity practices.
We live here, we fish here, we dive here - it’s our job to help protect it.
Mussel farmers have always known their farms are good for the environment – now scientists are agreeing.
See the Ecosystem Services summary report here
Biosecurity
Defending our water ways from foreign invaders.
We are often the first to discover the arrival of invasive pests and pathogens, and work to stop their spread, and where possible eliminate them.
Below are links to our Biosecurity Standards documents. Alternatively, you can visit the A+ Biosecurity page to learn more about how we are working to ensure the ongoing security of our industry.
Green light, best choice
Our light touch on the environment is recognised by ‘THE’ global sustainable seafood authority Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Their Seafood Watch programme gives all three species the green light, ‘best choice’ rating. In the seafood world, this is a huge deal!
Check out the Seafood Watch ratings here:
Restoring mussel beds
There is a global awakening to the essential role shellfish beds play in healthy coastal ecosystems, and we’re working with scientists, communities and conservationists to restore historical mussel beds in the Hauraki Gulf and Marlborough Sounds. Click on links below for further updates on these projects:
Revive our Gulf - Hauraki Gulf Restoration Project
Pelorus Mussel Restoration Project
Getting to know the neighbours
We spearheaded a project to better understand the elusive and endangered King shag and what’s threatening them.
The King Shag Working Group was formed by the Marine Farming Association (MFA) and includes representatives from our industry, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Iwi , Marlborough District Council and the Department of Conservation. As a result of this, a three-year extensive research programme was funded and this included chick banding and GPS tracking of adult birds. Some interesting insights were uncovered - click below to read the various progress and final report.