Final approval for Sounds salmon farms

After years of legal battles, three new salmon farms have been given the final approval for the Marlborough Sounds.

Conservation Minister Nick Smith has signed off changes to the Marlborough coastal plan to enable the farms to be built in Pelorus Sound and Tory Channel.

Dr Smith said the new farms would create 150 new jobs and grow New Zealand's gross domestic product by $120 million per year.

The minister's approval is the final step of the legal process following New Zealand King Salmon's application in 2011 to build nine new farms in the Sounds.

After a series of hearings and appeals by environmental groups and local campaigners, which went to the Supreme Court, King Salmon was ultimately granted permission to build three farms.