World's the oyster for Nelson nursery

A new large-scale oyster nursery in Nelson will help treble export earnings within a decade, says the Cawthron Institute.

The institute said it had invested more than $750,000 in the facility at Glenhaven, which would make up to 50 million single-seed Pacific Oyster spat a year.

Most juvenile oysters are gathered from wild stocks, which Cawthron commercialisation project manager Olin Pilcher said was like ranching in a marine environment.

"No one would think of going out these days to catch wild cows to milk," Pilcher said.

"Just as we've domesticated dairying with the introduction of selectively bred lines, this is where the aquaculture industry also needs to go."

The nursery would be able to supply the entire needs of the industry and was a significant platform for growth, with a potential to treble export earning to $120 million a year, Cawthron said.

"What we are doing is providing an assurance of single-seed Pacific Oyster spat that will not only provide farmers with a reliable source all year round, but also with specific attributes their customers want, ones that add value to the end product, be that shape, size or colour," Pilcher said.

"New Zealand had been spoilt with its natural resources and started to fall behind countries like Australia ...

"Hatchery spat presents the consumer with a superior product," Pilcher said.

Aquaculture New Zealand chief executive Mike Burrell said the hatchery was a significant step in the right direction.

" The more that we can control the breeding of the product the better the product will be," Burrell said.

The knowledge and technology in the future could potentially be applied to other shellfish species.

The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology said it had given Cawthron more than $1 million for research on captive rearing, hatchery technology and a selective breeding over a decade, with another $250,000 last year to overcome challenges in commercial scale production and building the business to an investor ready stage.