We farm and harvest approximately 1,000 tonnes of Greenshell Mussels per year in the Coromandel area. These mussels are then processed along with product supplied by independent and contract growers, at a joint venture business in Tauranga through North Island Mussels Ltd (NIML). We process close to 3,000 tonnes of Greenshell Mussels via the NIML facility – mostly half shell product. A retail shop on site is highly rated by the public of the Bay of Plenty.

Large pristine deepwater Sounds, with a constant tidal flow of water provide ideal growing conditions for Greenshell Mussels. Our largest area of farms are located in and around the beautiful Pelorus Sound in the Marlborough Sounds.

As one of the largest integrated farming, harvesting and processing operations, we operate an extensive range of vessels to seed, reseed, maintain and harvest our Greenshell Mussel farms. Computer monitoring of rainfall and regular water testing ensure only the highest quality mussels are processed here.

The plant has the capacity to run two nine hour shifts per day for 11 months of the year. The plant incorporates the latest half shell processing technology, which includes automated opening technology patented by Sanford. The plant processes between 14,000 and 18,500 mt per year, the majority of which is produced as frozen half shell destined for export.

Fish processing at Timaru is based on the catch of South Island trawlers that land a variety of species such as red cod, ling, hoki and elephant fish. Orange roughy and smooth dory are also processed.

With Sanford's freezer and charter vessel fleets using Timaru as their base port, the joint venture San Won unloading and storage facility is busy all year round. Vessel and charter managers are based in Timaru with ready access to the port. Sanford and San Won provide over 8,000 tonnes of cold storage space, some of which is utilised by other companies.

Our King Salmon come from broodstock which spans over 30 years of natural selection. At breeding time, the brood are carefully transported from our salmon farm in Big Glory Bay to our hatchery in Kaitangata, where approximately 1.5million eggs are gathered and fertilised each year. They are then incubated under strict hygiene and environmental control and, once hatched, the smolt are grown in the fresh snow-fed waters of the Clutha and Waitaki rivers which border the hatchery. Of the 1.5million eggs produced, 900,000 will become premium smolt after grading.

Once they reach approximately 30 grams the young fry are (then) transferred to our Stewart Island farms, to make the transition from fresh water to salt water, just as they would in the wild.

Our processing plant in Bluff processes the King Salmon harvest from our farms in Big Glory Bay all year round for fresh exports and domestic supply. Approximately 65% of the salmon produced in Bluff is sold on the domestic market. The peak of the salmon harvest occurs in the three months between October and December, with the plant processing 4,000 fish per day and shipping out up to 20 mt of fresh product per day.

The plant also handles other fish landed from independent fishermen throughout the year, with species like blue cod, monkfish and school shark providing most of the volume. Some fish are transferred through to the Timaru factory for processing.

With its cool, clean waters, Big Glory Bay in Stewart Island provides the perfect conditions for farming our King Salmon.

King Salmon Farming
It is here that our fish are carefully fed, nurtured and managed 24/7 for up to two years. Once they reach the desired weight of 4kg they are in perfect condition for harvest, processing, and sale to market. We harvest approximately 3,000 tonnes of King Salmon each year here, which is then processed at our Bluff plant for airfreight in fresh form or deep frozen for shipping by containers.