Job created to push bid for aquaculture

BLAIR ENSOR/The Marlborough Express

OPPORTUNITY: Backers of aquaculture in Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki districts are installing a project manager to push development.

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Backers of aquaculture in Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki districts are installing a project manager to push development.

Hauraki-Coromandel Development Group chairman John Tregidga said the position was part of a drive to ensure the area stayed ahead of the competition.

The Government yesterday signalled a freeing up of the rules around aquaculture development and marine farms in new areas were likely to proliferate.

Mr Tregidga told the Thames-Coromandel District Council on Wednesday that it needed to move now to secure the area's position as a leader in aquaculture and to ensure the benefits stayed in the area.

The recent opening up of more space at Wilson's Bay in the Firth of Thames would see rapid growth in mussel farming, with production projected to grow from 22,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes by 2015, given the right market and infrastructure conditions.

But fuelling problems in Coromandel town and the opening of a new processing plant in Tauranga threatened economic gains for local communities.

A new report on Waikato aquaculture potential written for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's Waikato regional governance group says there's an immediate need to solve the fuel problems.

Mussel barges have to get fuel from a single pump on Coromandel Wharf and compete with other boats and land-based users. The pump often runs out of fuel.

Barges operate out of the Sugarloaf Wharf at Te Kouma, south of Coromandel town, but it doesn't have fuel or water facilities.

The report says the cost of development at the wharf, which is opposed by some local residents, needs to be compared with setting up a new facility at nearby Windy Point. For the longer term, the option of an aquaculture facility at Kopu, near Thames, needs to be scoped out.

Coromandel councillor John Morrissey wanted reassurance that Coromandel town would remain the hub of aquaculture on the peninsula.

Mr Tregidga said development at Sugarloaf or Windy Point was a priority and there was no intention of taking development away from Coromandel town.

The Government was committed to aquaculture development and the Hauraki-Coromandel Development Group was actively pursuing funding. The region was not getting its fair share from the Aquaculture Fund, he said.

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