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 blue economy, including shipping, oil and gas, tourism, as well as seafood, makes up less than 3% of our national GDP. We have one of the largest, underutilized and nascent marine estates in the world.
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 almost 400 businesses. Listen to Jodie Kuntzsch from Moananui – Nelson Tasman’s official Blue Economy cluster.
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
Statistics as at 2023
