Seafood giant Sanford has left the Northland oyster business and taken a $2 million loss with the sale of 16 Pacific oyster farms to New Zealand's largest Maori-owned seafood company, Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd.
The deal, which was sealed on Friday, involves six farms near Kerikeri inlet, four in Whangaroa Harbour and six in Houhora Harbour, totalling 128 hectares. Also in the fire sale which sees Sanford rid itself of what amounted to only 1 per cent of the company's annual revenue were relevant licences, racks, sticks and cages as well as oysters growing on the farms, and vessels and vehicles.
However, Aotearoa Fisheries chose not to have Sanford's closed Kaeo processing plant included in the deal, Aotearoa Fisheries spokesman Don Collier said.
"We have no intention of continuing with processing at this stage, the Pacific oyster industry is still in a very precarious position. The farms we bought are carrying only about 30 per cent normal stocking, that's down about 70 per cent because of the virus," Mr Collier said.
"Nevertheless, we're pretty heavily engaged in a joint research project regarding finding resilient oyster family lines so we can look to the future. It is not going to be quick fix but we got out of the gates fairly quickly on that research." Aotearoa Fisheries already owns many oyster farms in Northland and the purchase would help the company protect its local business by increasing stock.
"We're committed to Northland water space and this purchase reflects our desire to hang on in there. The rationale behind the purchase is to do the best we can to keep our own farms viable and our own people employed."
The fate of two former Sanford workers is still under discussion.
While the amount paid for the 16 oyster farms has not been disclosed, the sale would mean a $2 million loss for Sanford in its second-half earnings this year, according to business analysts.
Sanford closed the Kaeo plant in December last year after a massive hit by the herpes virus that has killed 70-80 per cent of juvenile oysters in Northland and Coromandel since 2009.
Sanford said at the time it was confident the medium term outlook was positive as there was potential to breed oysters with resistance to the OsHV-1 herpes virus. The company had since opted to focus on its expanding greenshell mussel business, managing director Eric Barratt said.
"We just wanted to be out of the Pacific oyster business, and this was a good transaction from both sides," he said.
Sanford and Aotearoa Fisheries believe the sale strengthens both companies and therefore helps the local aquaculture industry to continue to flourish, the company said.
Aotearoa Fisheries comprises Moana Pacific Fisheries, OPC Fish and Lobster, Prepared Foods, Pacific Marine Farms and Kia Ora Seafoods, and owns half of the Sealord Group Limited.