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Sanford Group Managing Director Eric
Barratt thanked Helen Clark, saying: "This is the third new
aquaculture facility that you have opened for us over the last two
years. All of these facilities have created new jobs in their
regional communities."
"I can tell you, Prime Minister, that
the first two legs of the treble (in Bluff, Southland and Kaeo,
Northland) are winners," Mr Barratt said. Both plants were working
to capacity in serving export customers, and he was confident that
the same would apply to the third leg with the new Havelock
facility.
Aquaculture was a growth area in
Sanford's seafood business, whether in mussels, oysters or salmon.
"Our farming activities, our volumes, our harvesting activities, our
processing plants and our markets are all growing," Mr Barratt said.
"Our involvement in hatcheries and
farming, harvesting and processing, all certified to international
environmental standards, ensures that we can deliver quality
products to our customers throughout the world, whether it be
mussels or mackerel, oysters or orange roughy, scampi or salmon, or
terakihi or toothfish."
He said the new plant was the
culmination of some 18 years of planning, dating back to when
Sanford first investigated the fledgling mussel industry in the
Marlborough Sounds.
One of the pioneers of that industry,
Don Mitchell, later became Sanford's Havelock manager, and Eric
Barratt paid tribute to the innovative efforts of Don and the
Havelock team in continually improving processes and practices in
the industry.
Borrowing a phrase from the
Government's recent proposals for "growing an innovative New
Zealand," Mr Barratt commented: "Many of the innovators and pioneers
of this industry are here today; they are the people who developed
long line mussel farming to a sophistication unparalleled in the
world today. Most other mussel producing countries look to New
Zealand for ideas about long line mussel farming.
"Much of the innovation in farming
and harvesting has been typical New Zealand No.8 wire type
developments, but people like Don Mitchell and many others in the
audience here today have been at the forefront of constantly
refining each other's ideas, to improve the efficiency,
effectiveness and economics of the mussel industry."
On the farming side of the industry,
there had been improvements in seeding, growing and harvesting
operations. In processing, there had been significant advances in
areas like mechanical, steam and infra-red shell opening systems,
high-tech weighing and grading machines, and more advanced packaging
systems. "Much of this innovation has been generated within New
Zealand and within the mussel industry."
On the marketing side, early mussel
exports had been boosted by "piggy back" marketing with other
seafood products, and Mr Barratt acknowledged the assistance and
co-operation of the
Fishing Industry Board and
TradeNZ in this area.
Today New Zealand's greenshell
mussels were highly prized in major export markets around the world,
and sales were growing. In 1988 New Zealand exported 5,000 tonnes of
mussels worth NZD 15 million; in 2000 the volume was 75,000 tonnes
worth NZD 175 million.
Welcoming guests including overseas
buyers, Sanford's Havelock manager Don Mitchell praised the project
team who had spent 18 months constructing the new plant, while the
company's 165 staff had maintained processing operations for all but
a week or two.
As well as the onshore facility, a
new mussel farming vessel was also officially commissioned today.
Named the San Nikau, the vessel is 28 metres long, eight
metres wide and draws 1.45 metres. It carries a crew of three with
onboard accommodation, and is powered by twin engines with
auxiliaries and full gantries and winches to handle the normal range
of marine farming and harvesting activities. |
