A Marlborough Sounds teenager has collected 11,000 signatures calling for an end to a proposal to extend salmon farming in her backyard.

Leona Plaisier handed the petition to Green MP Steffan Browning at Parliament today after she was turned down by Environment Minister Amy Adams, Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key, Primary Industries Minister David Carter and Kaikoura MP Colin King, who said they wanted to remain "neutral" in the debate. 

The petition was in response to King Salmon's application to extend its farming operation in the Marlborough Sounds, which the Environmental Protection Authority board of inquiry is due to release its draft decision on by the end of the year.

Plaisier grew up in the sounds, where her family restored the Tui Nature Reserve, 38 hectares of land which can only be accessed by boat.

Salmon farming is intensive farming, so waste and feed builds up on the ocean floor, Plaisier said.

She feared that if King Salmon was granted approval, it would also open the door for further marine farming. 

- © Fairfax NZ News