Government announces plans for commercial oyster farm in Kaipara

The government has announced plans for a commercial oyster farm in Kaipara, in Northland, with $2.8 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund. Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones made the announcement at Pahi in Kaipara.

The money would establish a three-hectare commercial pilot oyster farm at Kaipara Harbour. A Beehive release titled "Government backs oyster industry resilience" says the investment is intended to support the long-term resilience of the Northland oyster sector.

The wider Kaipara investment also covers a six-hectare relay site, along with oyster farming infrastructure such as vessels, moorings and other marine assets.

The plan is tied to problems facing oyster growers at Mahurangi, further north. Mahurangi oyster farms produce around a quarter of New Zealand's oysters. Frequent closures caused by wet-weather overflows from the local sewage system have disrupted harvests in Mahurangi Harbour.

In October 2025, a sewage spill into the Mahurangi River contaminated tens of thousands of oysters. Watercare compensated ten farmers for the losses. Watercare has also announced a $450 million investment to improve the Warkworth wastewater system and reduce wet-weather overflows into the Mahurangi River.

Under the plan, Mahurangi oysters would be moved to the Kaipara facility, where they could be naturally purified during closures before harvest. The RNZ report says the project is a partnership with Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust and the Mahurangi Oyster Farmers Collective.

The government funding is a repayable grant. It would be paid back if the project generates sufficient revenue.

A Northland Regional Council report on aquaculture lists Whangaroa, Bay of Islands, Houhora and Kaipara as the locations of most Northland oyster farms.

Shane Jones did not rule out completely shutting Mahurangi Harbour for oyster harvesting.