Ngāi Tahu Seafood Resources Ltd’s application for the Hananui Aquaculture Project has reached the next stage under the Fast-track Approval Act legislation.
The applicant said the project had the potential to significantly boost New Zealand’s seafood exports.
"With global demand for sustainably farmed salmon on the rise, the project is estimated to generate hundreds of millions in export revenue annually," the application said.
At full scale, the project would contribute about $500m in annual gross revenue, representing a 150%-200% increase over current national salmon farming export revenues.
Market Economics Ltd said in terms of the income from jobs, the total economic activity would return up to $841m to households, of which $386m would be to households in Southland. Up to 480 jobs would be created once the farm was constructed.
The proposed site of about 1300ha is located about 2km off the northern coast of Stewart Island, 13km northwest of Oban.
At maximum development, each of the four marine farms proposed would consist of two blocks of 10 net pens with associated mooring and anchoring systems. The two blocks within each farm would be about 300m apart.
At full production, the pens and feed barges will occupy about 100ha of coastal space, less than 8% of the proposed site.
A previous application by Ngāi Tahu Seafood Resources made under Covid-19 fast track legislation was unsuccessful.
That proposal, to develop roughly 2500ha off the north-eastern coast of Stewart Island, was turned down by an expert panel who said the benefits did not outweigh the environmental costs to an area that was home to threatened species and largely unmodified by human activities.
The applicant said the new proposal was considerably different from its predecessor.
Great white sharks are present at Stewart Island from late summer to early winter, but they are largely absent during the rest of the year, the application said.
The proposed site overlaps with great white shark habitat, and a major great white shark aggregation site was located 10km away at the Tītī Islands.
Earth Sciences New Zealand fisheries scientist Brit Finucci said in the application it was inevitable white and seven-gill sharks would be attracted to the proposed farm.
The primary adverse effect on sharks would be entanglement and entrapment, which might be fatal.
It was recommended to use predator-resistant net material with appropriate mesh size to reduce the chances of sharks becoming entangled.
There should be regular net inspections, vigilance in monitoring the immediate vicinity of the marine farms for sharks and the implementation of a shark management plan to reduce risks.
The Department of Conservation has been asked to comment on various parts of the proposal by February 17.
