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NEWS KING SALMON STIRS UP THE SOUNDS The decision to grant four new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds has added fuel to the Resource Management Act debate. New Zealand King Salmon put an application through an Environmental Protection Authority board of inquiry for nine farms, but were granted consent for four farms to be built. While the Marlborough District Council acknowledges it was appropriate to do this, it says it feels the decision making process was taken out of its hands. Mayor Alistair Sowman says the council felt its efforts in creating a 10 year plan for the Sounds were thrown into disarray. "The mere fact that we'd consulted with people in that area over a 10 year period," he says. "We developed a plan and we believed we owed it to those people to defend that plan." The Government is reforming the Resource Management Act, a move that could affect how such applications are handled in the future. EDS APPEALS MARBOUROUGH SOUNDS FISH FARMS The Environmental Defence Society has lodged an appeal at the High Court in Blenheim against the EPA board of inquiry decision to build four new fish farms in the Marlborough Sounds. Consents were given to New Zealand King Salmon for Ngamahau in Tory Channel, Waitata and Richmond in Pelorus Sound and Papatua in Port Gore. Consent was denied for Kaitapeha farm in Queen Charlotte Sound, Ruaomoko in Tory Channel, and Kaitira and Tapipi in Pelorus Sound. Gary Taylor, chairman of EDS says the EPA board found that the Papatua site had outstanding landscape values but subsequently approved it for salmon farming. The society regards this as wrong in law and also contends that the board of inquiry failed to consider alternative options for zoning sites outside of prohibited areas. King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne said the company planned to have its first fish in the water by the end of 2015 at the earliest. The appeal is likely to significantly delay the schedule. NZ KING SALMON SAYS IT'S SET TO BRING SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC BENEFITS New Zealand King Salmon has attained an internationally accepted aquaculture sustainability certification. The South Island based business has been confirmed as a sustainable salmon producer through achieving the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices certification. The certification covers New Zealand King Salmon's entire current operations – five sites and three production facilities in Marlborough and Nelson. Certification examines farm compliance issues such as community property rights and relations, worker relations, the environment, fish management and welfare, wildlife interactions and supply storage and disposal. 4 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ On the production side, it addresses management practices such as quality and staff, environment and food safety and verification and traceability. Currently New Zealand King Salmon company creates almost $25 million in wages and salaries for the area of the top of the South Island. The Environmental Protection agency's Board of Inquiry has recently given the green light for four new farms covering six surface hectares. The new farms will enable New Zealand King Salmon to double production to 15,000 tonnes over the coming years bringing into the country an extra $60 million a year in export income and ultimately adding muchneeded new jobs to the region. New Zealand King Salmon plans to fund a research programme of nitrogen levels from all sources, not just fish farms. The research will establish baseline levels of nitrogen in the Sounds and their sources to support New Zealand King Salmon's contention that nitrogen levels from fish farms have little effect on the environment. The scientific programme will be monitored by a peer review panel of scientists who will serve in an advisory role for the company, Marlborough District Council and iwi. The company's new sites awarded following the recent EPA hearings will be audited as they come on stream. IKANA LIVE GREENSHELL MUSSELS Two years of research and development has resulted in Ikana Live Greenshell Mussels' modified atmosphere packaging, which provides a 10 day shelf life while retaining the freshness and flavour of the product. Ikana's Mark Ventress says the team was looking to develop a product that would be both more convenient and more delicious. "First and foremost, we wanted to produce live mussels that are of the best quality – we MAY/JUNE 2013 hand select. The restaurants we supply have been giving us great feedback on the quality of our mussels and how easy they are to use. They're just as simple to use at home, and you know they're always going to turn out brilliantly!" PICTON PROCESSING FACTORY CLOSES SEASON EARLY Fifty workers have been affected by the Nelson Ranger Fishing Company's decision to close its mussel processing season early at its factory in Picton, according to board representative Bruce Lock. Bruce Lock said the Marlborough mussel industry had experienced a "challenging season," with slower mussel growth than normal. Combined with the strong New Zealand dollar, it was not cost effective to process small sized mussels because they take longer and are not worth as much as larger mussels, Lock said. Staff with annual leave were on paid leave and staff without annual leave were taking unpaid leave, and the company would continue to review its decision and hoped to reopen the factory in May after the mussels had fattened up. "We certainly don't like having to say to our staff, 'hey guys we don't need your services tomorrow.' But life is tough, we are grappling with exchange rates… it happens from time to time." The time it took staff to process 50 or 60 smaller sized mussels to make a kilogram bag as opposed to 30 or 40 standard sized mussels, made all the difference in production efficiency, he said. Marine Farming Association executive officer Graham Coates confirmed it had been a slow growing season for mussel farms around the country, caused by La Nina weather patterns. Usually mussels feed on run-off caused by rain but the dry conditions and clear waters had slowed mussel growth, he said. "The La Nina weather patterns have created seawater conditions that aren't helpful to production. "There has been a slowdown in the harvesting of mussels since before Christmas." The delayed harvest would lead to a downturn in mussel processing, Coates said. "It's a cyclical thing. We saw similar conditions in 1999 and 2002 when there was a drought and clear water in the Marlborough Sounds." A sustainability study led by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research last year found mussel growth was related to weather patterns affecting food supply, not overcrowding caused by mussel farm expansion, as previously thought. The westerly or northwesterly winds of El Nino summers promote "upwelling" along the continental shelf in Cook Strait, bringing cold, deep and nutrient rich water to the surface.