Marine waters sustainable aquaculture strategy released for public consultation in NSW

The community is being encouraged to have a say on the NSW Marine Waters Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy that is on public exhibition from June 25 to August 3, 2018.

The NSW Government said it aims to increase the value of primary industries by 30 per cent by 2020.

Deputy Director General, Fisheries, Dr Geoff Allan, said the NSW Government is committed to supporting sustainable aquaculture development.

“Global demand for seafood is rapidly expanding, primarily due to population growth and increased seafood consumption per capita,” Dr Allan said.

“Currently close to 87 per cent of seafood consumed in NSW is imported, so there is clearly an opportunity to further develop the sustainable seafood production to support future seafood demands of the state.

NSW has two other aquaculture strategies: the NSW Land Based Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy and the NSW Oyster Industry Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy.

The strategy covers coastal waters to the jurisdictional limit of three nautical miles offshore (State Waters), but does not include estuarine environments.