April 14, 2016
Maori linked firms upgrade fish processing capacity
Ngai Tahu Seafood and Ngati Kahungunu Asset Holding Company this morning opened new processing plants at opposite ends of the country.
Ngai Tahu Seafood chief executive Joseph Thomas says the $6 million state of the art factory at Bluff is a long term investment which will increase the tribe's ability to innovate and get better returns from high value species.
The company has been at Bluff since 1992 where it employs between 45 and 60 people, depending on the oyster season.
It currently receives about 250 tonne of live lobster a year which is held at Bluff before being transported to the Christchurch plant to pack out for export.
It also processes oysters, about 90 tonnes of blue cod for fillets and about 60 tonne of paua.
Mr Thomas said the plant more than doubles the amount of lobster that can be held.
In Auckland, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English this morning opened Kahungunu's new lobster processing factory in East Tamaki.
It’s leased to Te Anau-based Fiordland Lobster Company, which has guaranteed access to the iwi’s quota under a decade-old arrangement that has allowed Kahungunu to become the fourth-largest shareholder of what is the largest and most profitable crayfish company in Australasia.
The two companies work together to ensure Kahungunu and Rongomaiwahine fisherman catch the quota owned by their respective iwi, with most of the catch heading for the premium Chinese market.
JOSEPH THOMAS – NGAI TAHU SEAFOODS INTERVIEW
TREVOR MOEKE – NGATI KAHUNGUNU ASSET HOLDING COMPANY INTERVIEW
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