On Monday, the Whakatohea Maori Trust Board approved the proposal of the Opotiki District Council to promote aquaculture off the Opotiki Coast, clearing the way for a mussel farm for Chinese aquaculture company Oriental Ocean.
To accommodate aquaculture, the District Council also proposed redevelopment of Opotiki Harbor, which was approved during the board's annual general meeting. Australian consultant SGL Group has been appointed to do a feasibility study for the U.S.$30 million project.
Watene Horsfall, CEO of the board, said that aquaculture had a bright future and it deserves to be considered seriously for the prosperity of the local community.
Impressed with the scope of Oriental's operation, Opotiki Mayor John Forbes visited the company's fish farms in Yantai, China, in April. Forbes visited Oriental Ocean's 60-hectare sea cucumber farm, as well as more than 100-hectares area used to breed flatfish in Yantai.
