New salmon farming industry to confer

Press, 20 July 1984, Page 21

New salmon farming industry to confer

Salmon fanning in' New Zealand is now midway through its establishment period. In recognition of the growing importance of the industry, New Zealand’s first salmon farming conference is to be held at the University of Canterbury on August 4 and 5. The leader of the M.A.F.’s salmon research group, Dr Peter Todd, said that a symposium on management of the salmon fishery had been held in 1980. “At that time we estimated it would take about 10 years for the salmon farming industry to become fully established,” he said. “Now, halfway through that period, there are six ocean ranches, two of them also with pond rearing facilities, two companies sea cage rearing, and four people starting with pond rearing sockeye salmon.”

Dr Todd said the emphasis of the conference would be on discussion of results, rather than a “how to” format, although there was a lot of interest from people not yet involved in the industry. Conference sessions on Saturday, August 4, will cover ocean ranching, sea cage and pond rearing, and management and the recreational fishery. Sessions on the second day include disease problems, export certification and marketing. Those contributing to the conference will come from commercial salmon farming, the M.A.F., acclimatisation societies and the Fishing Industry Board. The conference will be rounded off with a look-to-the-future panel discussion, which will consider prospects for the industry and research needs.