Open-ocean fish farming and the push for 450,000 tonnes of exports

Fisheries Minister Shane Jones met aquaculture leaders and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in Wellington to discuss growing the sector. The meeting was reported on 21 September 2026. RNZ

Those at the table included MPI officials, investors, chief executives, iwi representatives and other sector leaders. The focus was open-ocean fish farming — farming outside sheltered inshore waters. They discussed export scale, demand for protein and what rules would be needed.

The group set an aspirational goal of 450,000 tonnes of aquaculture exports a year, aimed at the premium market. Sector leaders say open-ocean farming could let aquaculture rival the red meat sector. Part of the argument is rising global demand for healthy, lean protein, partly linked to weight-loss drugs.

Chris Kerr, MPI's director of strategy, insights and evidence, pointed to the GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. These drugs curb appetite and lift demand for premium, nutrient-dense protein, he told the meeting. He said the next 25 years would add two billion more people to feed. He said there will be a global structural shortfall in protein supply.

Industry players said the export gains were achievable whether or not Ozempic and Wegovy kept driving demand.

That distinction is important to keep in mind. It separates short-term demand linked to a medicine from longer-term shifts in population and diet.

MPI director-general Ray Smith set out the starting point. He said 93 percent of the food New Zealand produces is eaten overseas. He put primary sector exports at about $64 billion a year, with aquaculture at about $750 million, or less than 1.2 percent. The sector already has a goal of $3 billion in annual revenue by 2035.

Jones said industry agreed to share ideas with the Government, starting with a regulatory system for open-ocean farming. Kerr told the meeting that growth would need a new aquaculture law. Those ideas for a separate law and rulebook are not official Government policy.

New Zealand's exclusive economic zone, the sea area it has rights over, is the fourth-largest in the world. Current open-water projects include NZ King Salmon's Blue Endeavour, described as the world's first open-ocean king salmon farm, Ngāi Tahu's Hananui salmon project approved under fast-track off Rakiura/Stewart Island, and the Te Whakatohea mussel farm off Ōpōtiki.

The Government has updated the national rules for marine aquaculture, which it says will make it easier for operators to improve how they farm. Fish Farmer Magazine Jones says the changes simplify the consent process, the approvals needed, for open-ocean projects. Beehive

GLP-1 drugs suppress appetite and are mainly prescribed for diabetes and weight loss. Reuters Households using them cut grocery spending by 5.3 percent and fast-food spending by about 8 percent on average. Nestlé is seeking to develop new products for users of the drugs, while Brazil recorded a rise in seizures of illegal GLP-1 drugs from 609 units in 2024 to 60,787 in 2025.

The broader context here is process as much as protein. The question for officials and industry is whether open-ocean growth can be managed by changing existing consenting paths, including fast-track, or whether it needs its own Act with its own rules for access, the environment and the Treaty. A separate regime would make clear who decides access to open water and on what terms, but it would need Cabinet agreement, drafting priority and time in the House. Until then, the 450,000-tonne figure remains an industry aspiration, not a ministerial commitment.