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Mt Cook Alpine Salmon land-based farm concept illustration. Photo: Supplied / Mount Cook Alpine Salmon
A proposal for a land based salmon farm planned for near Twizel was unveiled yesterday, with the government committing $16.7 million to it.
Mount Cook Alpine Salmon says the farm will be waste free, returning all the water used in the farm back to source in the same state it was taken.
Exported salmon earns the country more than $100 million a year, but the sector faces many challenges - environmental impacts and rising sea temperatures key among them.
The country's largest salmon producer, New Zealand King Salmon has had to dump fish, closes farms and let go of staff due to warmer water temperatures brought on by climate change.
To discuss the land based salmon farm project Lynn speaks to Mount Cook Alpine Salmon Chief Executive David Cole and Maren Wellenreuther, a marine biologist and seafood scientist at Plant and Food Research in Nelson.