64 | “Demand for New Zealand’s mussels is what drives production,” says John. “There’s more export demand for New Zealand mussels than we can supply. It’s a very sweet spot to be in.” While mussels are a universally desired food with a myriad of ways they can be consumed and with sophisticated processing formats, John warns there are headwinds to reaching the potential of the farming space New Zealand wide. He says the key factors are farm profitability as costs and renewal costs for farms escalate, and spat supply off Ninety Mile beach quality drops because of La Nina conditions where the spat is hungry and shows poor survival. “There are also predation problems in Marlborough: Talley’s Blenheim REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Merger key to growth Richard Loader Clearwater’s annual production represents 15% of New Zealand’s total production of 100,000 tonne, 60% of which is produced from the Sounds. A graduate of Canterbury University, John Young fell in love with the idea of mussel farming during holidays in the early 1970s at a time when the industry hadn’t even been born. Having spent his long life farming the wavy blue paddocks of Marlborough blending science with a can-do approach to pioneer and innovate techniques along the way, what John does not know about mussel farming is perhaps of little value, and he holds a respected voice within the industry. John went mussel farming in his own right in ’84 when he and his wife Lyn formed Clark Island Company. Investing heavily in a new 1000hp 90’ vessel placed the company in severe financial strain because it didn’t have the necessary economy of scale. “We were growing 2000 tonne of mussels each year which wasn’t enough,” says John. “Because of increasing compliance costs, consent renewals, the expense of infrastructure, and the relatively low price of mussels combined with ongoing environmental challenges – especially the current long-run La Nina weather cycle which affects the quality and abundance of the mussels algae food supply – our analysis pointed to increasing the size of our operation to spread risk and create some economies of scale.” Then in 2007 the opportunity arose to amalgamate the Young’s Clark Island Company, with Talley’s, combining assets and forming Clearwater Mussels, with John appointed as a Managing Director. “An existing relationship and mutual respect built up over thirty five years with Talley’s made this an obvious beneficial relationship,” says John. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a good relationship with your processor.” Clearwater Mussels has shore-bases in Havelock (Marlborough) and Tarakohe (Golden Bay). Fifty employees, a mixture of shore support crew, harvest vessel crew, farm maintenance crew, reseeding crews, plus engineering and float-making specialists make up Clearwater’s operation, currently producing 18,000 tonnes of mussels annually. “There are one hundred and seven growing and spat nursery farms in the Sounds ranging in size from two to ten hectares and eleven farm areas in open water in Tasman and Golden Bay ranging from two hectares to one hundred and twenty hectares,” explains John. “Whilst windy and gusty at times, the Sounds is the jewel in the crown of mussel farming because of the ease of working there in the many and varied locations. The open water farming we do in Golden and Tasman Bay comes with real challenges because of the extreme wave events.” The mussels go direct by vessel to Talley’s wharf in Motueka but the majority are trucked through to the size and colour grading hub in Havelock to the various processing plants. All of Clearwater mussels go to Talley’s, with the record harvest being 18,000 tonnes processed. Because of La Nina, which downgrades production per hectare by up to 40%, and the processing backlog caused by labour and shipping difficulties, some mussels are not being harvested on time which has resulted in a substantial reduction to Clearwater’s expected annual total. The company’s annual production represents 15% of New Zealand’s total production of 100,000 tonne, 60% of which is produced from the Sounds. Clearwater Mussels contribute 23% of the Sounds total haul. Forklift Sales • Hire & Leasing • Repairs & Service • Forklift Safety Battery Sales & Servicing • Tyre Services • Warehouse Equipment 03 547 8169 www.momentumequipment.co.nz 10-74 Quarantine Rd, Nelson Proudly supporting Talley’s Limited EQUIPMENT SERVICES Move Logistics and TNL International are proud to be associated with Talley’s Limited as one of their key logistics providers around their international and aqua-culture businesses we look forward to countinuing the ongoing relationship and association with the Talley’s business. Contact TNL International Nelson 03 545 9457 Contact Move Logistics 03 546 0099 tnlintl.com
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