WAKATU Incorporation which owns Marlborough's Aotearoa Seafoods, has announced a restructuring of its seafood businesses to take advantage of the Profits offered bY finfish. Wakatu chief executive officer Keith Palmer said the restructuring was Part of a l0-Year Plan to broaden the companv's focus from mussels to include other species, such as cod, hapuka, kingfish and butterfish.
The New Zealand aquaculture industry had set a goal of becoming a billion dollar export industry by 2025.
"That growth will come from new species," Mr Palmer said. A hectare of musselfarm water space would generate $30,000 profit annually while finfish could generate more than $1 million' Mr Palmer said. "The demand is shifting from Europe' who eat meat and dairy, to Asia, who eat seafood