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Salmon farmer New Zealand King Salmon (NZKS) is looking to expand its operations but has to apply to have its plans classed as 'a proposal of national signficance' before it can go ahead.
The Nelson-based company wants to double its production to 15,000 tonnes in three to five years in the Marlborough Sound area.
NZKS decided to apply to the Environmantel protection Authority (EPA) instead of its local council, to speed up the process, which could have taken up ton five years through the traditional consent route but this has sparked local objection.
"King Salmon's riding roughshod over the local community decision-making processes; it's not going to have the robustness that a local process would," said environmentalist Steffan Browning.
The salmon farming company said its expansion would lead to "around 70" new jobs in the area. Water space for at least eight new salmon farms and thus around 10 surface ha of space wopuld be required.
The EPA is planning a public meeting for Marlborough to explain the process, according to NZKS.
The country’s aquaculture sector has faced obstacles in recent years, unable to acquire new sea space to expand since the current legislation was introduced in seven years ago.
Since then, the government has introduced legislation to Parliament to try to make the consent process more efficient. The industry has outlined plans to double its annual earnings to more than NZD 1 billion (USD 803 million) by 2020.
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