New Zealand based animal welfare organization SAFE has condemned the Government’s NZ$11.72 million ($6.6 million) investment in salmon farming and is demanding an urgent review into endemic animal welfare breaches.
SAFE Campaign Manager Emily Hall says the funding allocated via the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is a concerning misdirection of government resources.
“Fish farms are quite simply under water factory farms, and this is an unregulated industry with no meaningful oversight of animal welfare.”
SAFE also warns that intensive fish farming poses serious environmental risks including declining water quality and antibiotic pollution, making this use of government sustainability funding profoundly misguided.
SAFE says all fish confined to cages on land or at sea are prevented from exhibiting their normal patterns of behavior, adding the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) is well overdue in producing a code of welfare for farmed fishes.
“The fishes bred in these underwater cages subject to terrible conditions, including overcrowding, poor water quality, skeletal deformities, skin lesions and heat stress,” says Hall.
SAFE says this week’s funding announcement also highlights a significant conflict of interest, with MPI being responsible for both the growth of intensive farming industries and animal welfare compliance.
However, the Government is aiming to unlock additional exports and create jobs in the aquaculture industry, said Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Agriculture, and Trade and Investment Todd McClay on announcing the funding.
The two ministers have confirmed support for salmon farming which is estimated to create an additional sector wide $500m of salmon exports by 2035.
The joint project will look at ways to expand salmon farming around New Zealand including in deep water while continuing to meet environmental obligations.
“The ‘Future Salmon Farming Programme’ will prove the viability of open ocean farming for the King Salmon species to make New Zealand a leading global supplier for this high value product,” said McClay.
“It will also drive innovation, allowing fish farmers to maximize productivity and profitability and get a better return for their product.
“It’s clear that open ocean aquaculture is going to be key for the industry’s growth,” said Jones. These farms will increase our capacity for farmed salmon by 40,000 tonnes annually in addition to the expected 10,000 tonnes from New Zealand King Salmon’s pilot open ocean farm.”