Key facts of the SPATnz programme
Programme start: November 2012
Length: 7 years
PGP funding: $13 million
Industry funding: $13 million
Crown funding paid out to programme for work done to 30 June 2019: $10,650,426
Commercial partners: Sanford Ltd
Estimated potential economic benefits to New Zealand: The direct potential benefit to GDP of this programme is approximately $81 million by 2026. If the technology developed through this programme is adopted more broadly throughout the sector, GDP could increase by $193 million.
SPATnz programme evaluation
Independent evaluation of the SPATnz Primary Growth Partnership
Programme outcomes
Outcome logic model
Outcome logic for SPATnz programme 2012–2019 (updated August 2016) [PDF, 91 KB]
Progress review report
Review of Primary Growth Partnership SPATnz [PDF, 862 KB]
Background to programme
Through the reliance on wild-caught spat, New Zealand's Greenshell™ mussel industry struggles to realise its full potential and deliver a consistent supply of mussels with the characteristics demanded by premium markets.
The aim of this programme is to deliver benefits by:
- domesticating the Greenshell™ mussel
- developing a wide range of selectively bred, high-performing breeds for industry.
The solution
Breeding mussels in captivity is essential to deliver what the industry and market requires. Wild spat sources allow little control over the timing and quantity of spat supply or the characteristics of the crop. Selectively bred hatchery spat can be produced year round from carefully selected parents.
Traditional selective breeding continues to deliver huge gains in virtually every primary production sector on land. With the help of this programme we can now do the same for Greenshell mussel farming.
Research under this programme will focus on selective breeding and the development of hatchery technology to produce improved spat at the large scale required by industry.
SPATnz has operated a pilot-scale mussel hatchery since early 2015. It has successfully developed methods for spat production at one-third of target scale. Those methods are now being scaled up to enable spat production at the level required to deliver benefits widely.
This technology and enhanced capability will be a breakthrough for our mussel industry, and provide significant economic returns.
Watch a video about SPATnz on YouTube
Audit
Assurance on SPATnz use of funding [PDF, 656 KB]
