Oyster spat nursery opens in Nelson

Media Release                                                                                                                                                                                                                               10th June, 2009

Research and development investment underpins commercial oyster spat production

Investment by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has supported development of a commercial oyster spat nursery that officially opens today in Nelson. The project is expected to help grow industry earnings by $10 million a year within five years.

Established by research institute Cawthron, the nursery will allow a five-fold increase in production of single-seed Pacific oyster spat  from selectively bred parents to make 50 million spat available each year to meet growing demand from the oyster farming industry.

The single seed method involves growing oysters in mesh baskets on long lines, giving farmers greater control over growing conditions and allowing oysters to be grown in sub-tidal areas as well as traditional inter-tidal locations.

The Foundation has been a key funder of Cawthron’s underpinning research into rearing Pacific Oysters in captivity, developing hatchery technology and initiating the selective breeding programme to enable the development of improved genetic broodstock. That research, carried out over a decade, received investment of more than $1 million from the Foundation. Until now, Cawthron has been producing enough oyster spat within its research facilities to supply around 20 per cent of the market with remaining farmers using wild caught, lower quality spat.

Last year, the Foundation provided additional investment of $250,000 to help Cawthron overcome the technical challenges in commercial scale production and build the business to an investor-ready stage. The result will be an established, commercially viable oyster spat production nursery. 

Graham Scown, who heads the Foundation’s commercialisation team, says it’s exciting to see government investment in leading edge science providing intellectual property for a new business that will lead to economic growth for New Zealand.

“Government funds have been used in a variety of different ways through the value chain, from funding the core research to leveraging the intellectual property to create a viable business. It’s great to see the level of industry involvement – Cawthron has worked hand-in-hand with industry right from the start of the selective breeding programme.”

The Foundation invests over $500 million a year in research and development on behalf of the government. Its commercialisation team works with research organisations to bring knowledge and technologies discovered through publicly funded scientific research to market. 

Cawthron estimates that a reliable supply of high quality Pacific Oyster spat has the potential to take the industry from earning $40 million a year to $160 million. 

In addition to the direct gains to the oyster farming industry, Mr Scown says the Foundation investment is also helping to develop business acumen and foster the entrepreneurial spirit within Cawthron, ensuring the organisation has greater capability to commercialise other research.

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