Science Centres: Fisheries

Ivan Wilson (right) and Graeme Moss of NIWA measure stock at the East Land Aquaculture paua farm, Nuhaka.

How a former lobster fisherman turned dairy farmer built a successful paua farming operation in a disused lobster holding plant north of Wairoa.

It’s been three years since Ivan and Merrilyn Wilson approached NIWA’s aquaculture team saying they wanted to farm paua. Now, East Land Aquaculture is one of the few farms consistently supplying paua to market. Recently, it even air freighted paua to Korea.

The Wilsons’ plant uses specialised recirculation technology designed for them by NIWA. The key, according to Phil Heath of NIWA, is to design a system which delivers precisely what paua need by way of clean oxygen-rich water, temperature, and nutrients, and removes the resulting waste products (carbon dioxide, ammonia, and faecal matter) effectively and efficiently. ‘It’s been a strong collaboration,’ says Phil. ‘Ivan’s strengths are good animal husbandry and attention to detail in the farm’s construction. We provided the technology, business plans, and ongoing technical support.

‘Farms using old-style, flow-through systems were taking more than 3 years to get paua up to 65 millimetres. Ivan’s selling them at 75–80 millimetres within 26 months of the first seed going in the system.’