Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley is opening the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's new aquaculture laboratory facility on Friday, October 29.

‘Ahumoana a Toi' represents a $700,000 investment by the polytechnic in its aquaculture facilities to meet a growing demand both regionally and nationally.

Aquaculture in New Zealand is expected to be about to enter a growth period, and a key goal of the New Zealand Aquaculture Strategy is to build a sustainable $1 billion industry by 2025.

The Bay of Plenty is already undergoing developments in this field with the largest sea farm in the country planned for Opotiki.

'The vision is to create an aquaculture facility that is leading innovation in New Zealand and is dovetailed for regional needs,” says senior polytechnic marketing adviser Meg Jones.

'We will provide collective knowledge and access to technology and resources beyond the capability of local stakeholders.

'As a proactive partner with local stakeholders, we will further advance our existing expertise in marine and environmental management to explore and develop aquaculture in a sustainable way.”

The new facility's teaching resources will be relevant to current industry standards, producing industry ready students.

The research capability will also be significantly enhanced and allow the polytechnic to be able to quickly respond to the aquaculture industry's changing demands.