Blue Economy

The fastest growing Blue Economy in the country

The whenua (land) of Aotearoa New Zealand, while beautiful and productive, makes up only 4% of our territory. 96% of our territory is at sea. Yet our country's blue economy, including shipping, tourism, as well as seafood, makes up less than 3% of our national GDP. New Zealand has one one of the largest, underutilized and nascent marine estates in the world.

Investing in opportunity.

Our Blue Economy is a key driver of future economic development in the Nelson Tasman region. In many ways it will define the region’s future economic distinctiveness, currently contributing $332m to the region’s GDP and employing 3,700 individuals in over 300 businesses.

Listen to Jodie Kuntzsch from Moananui, Nelson Tasman’s official Blue Economy cluster, on our region's biggest natural asset and the opportunity it provides.

Leading Businesses

Nelson Tasman is the location of many key stakeholders in our Blue Economy – resulting in a wide and deep network of relationships, processes and systems that drive innovation and industry growth