Andrew Forsyth: NIWA Aquaculture Chief Scientist on the agriculture industry's expected boom

New Zealand's agriculture industry has the potential to become a $3 billion earner. 

Land-based Kingfish farm in Northland is contributing to the prospect, as the only facility of its type in the country.

The farm has already received international interest and is projected to be bigger than salmon in less than 10 years. 

NIWA Aquaculture Chief Scientist Andrew Forsyth talks to Mike Hosking. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More good news around the economy. This is the prospect
of our aquaculture industry becoming a three billion dollar earner.
Northland's land based kingfish farm it's part of that whole story.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Haky is what they're called. It's the only facility of
its time in the country. It's already producing four hundred
ton of a year. There's already international interest apparently, and
in less than ten years they say it could be
bigger than salmon. So new Are Aquaculture Chief scientist Andrew
Forsarth is with us on this Andrew Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
What's the timeline story here? How long has this been building?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well, we've been out at twenty years and I think
that's a key part is to be successful, you've got
to put the time in and put the money in.
And we've done both and now we're ready to go.
We're on the cusp of going commercial. I think you're
you're perhaps a tiny bit optimistic of where we are today.
We're probably two hundred and fifty times, but by the

(00:53):
end of the year we hope to be at four
hundred tons and it's the product flies out the door.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well, when you say that, I'm not a huge ex
bit on fish. But what's the market the kingfish as
opposed to any other sort of fish.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
It is a particularly high value product. I think what
the consumer is looking for is something that's like salmon,
which has been an enormous global success and has the
eating qualities of salmon, but looks a little different, tastes
a little different, and so you're looking for a fish
that grows quickly. From a commercial point of view, you're

(01:27):
looking for something that grows really quickly, very efficiently, maintains
good health, has good eating qualities. On the consumer side,
they're looking for something that has a bit of high fat,
cooks easily can be eaten either in the Japanese style
cuisine as a sashimi, or in almost any Western or

(01:48):
other cooked style that you care to mention.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Pound for pound, how does it sell.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
It sells very comparable to New Zealand premium salmon.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
So that's right up there. That's quality as well.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yeah, that's the quality and certainly better than you know,
New Zealand loves snapper, but it's certainly worth a lot
more than set napper.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Okay, Having said that, is there any sort of imaging,
marketing branding around the land, base versus the ocean.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
I think we're being we're certainly trying to put a
New Zealand stamp on this. So this is why we're
using the Haku kingfish branding. We want international and national
recognition for premium New Zealand products. So that's that's the
that's the direction of travel. The land based I certainly

(02:41):
am a believer that land based will dominate the production,
certainly in New Zealand, but we're not excluding the possibility
of some sea based farming as well, perhaps using the
land base or sea based to complement the land based product. Certainly,
we know that if you can give fish a fast

(03:02):
start on land and then finish them at sea, you
can enjoy a lot of the benefits of sea based
farming which do exist, and avoid the negatives of many
of the negatives, you know, adverse temperatures in certain seasons
and that sort of thing.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
As far as an industry is concerned. On the incitement scale,
teen you're about to pop? Where are you at?

Speaker 2 (03:27):
I think in ten years we hope to get to
perhaps five years. I think optimistically five years we could
be the three thousand tons we could see. In ten years,
I think we could we could treble that. That's pretty cool,
you know, that's getting up with with where, perhaps getting
close to where New Zealand Chineff's salmon production is today,

(03:51):
but they in turn are hoping to expand significantly as well.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, we'll follow with the gradual eminent trist Appreciate it
and wish you well, Andrew Fulsnyth and thee Where Aquaculture
Chief Scientists.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
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