The owners of the offshore mussel farm development in Opotiki have adopted a carefully staged approach to commercialisation, says Dickie Farrar, chief executive of the Whakatohea Maori Trust Board.
"But it has huge potential for the whole region," she said.
The board owns 54 per cent of Eastern Sea Farms, with a group of local investors, Whakatohea Aquaculture (Opotiki), holding the balance. Eastern Sea Farms is effectively the landlord of the 3800ha consent, 80 per cent of which has been leased to trust-controlled development company Whakatohea Opotiki Aquaculture, to ensure the development and landlord roles are kept distinct.
Eastern Sea Farms was the only offshore mussel farm in New Zealand and had the potential to be the country's largest, said Ms Farrar.
Development has involved years of research, mostly with the assistance of Cawthron Institute in Nelson, but also with the University of Waikato's Coastal Research Station in Tauranga also taking part.