New Zealanders are on track this year to buy more foreign than local salmon, for the first time.

This is in contrast to the thriving Norwegian aquaculture industry, where they're using it to replace their $70 billion oil and gas industries.

New Zealand King Salmon chief executive, Grant Rosewarne, told Mike Hosking current laws are preventing them from meeting demand.

"We're shoehorned into 17 surface hectares in the Marlborough Sound and of that space, half of it is really not suitable for our species."

He said we have the fourth largest marine economic zone in the world, so there is plenty of space to grow aquaculture.

Rosewarne wants the Government to allow farming in the zone.

"We've got 4.4 million square kilometres, we only need 3 surface hectares and we could double our production."

He said boosting production would also add jobs to their more than 500 strong workforce.