NZ King Salmon open ocean farm plan faces appeals

Appeals have been lodged against New Zealand King Salmon’s consent to move its salmon farming operations out into cooler waters.

The company’s fish are being killed by warmer waters in the Marlborough Sounds, and last month it was given approval by the Marlborough District Council, after a six-year process, to expand into colder Cook Strait waters.

The project, which the company calls Blue Endeavour, would be New Zealand’s first open ocean finfish site, situated 7km north of Cape Lambert.

However, analysts have said that it remains highly uncertain, and have warned that objections could cause further delays.

NZ King Salmon has disclosed to the NZX that the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC) and the McGuinness Institute Te Hononga Waka, a think tank working towards a sustainable future for New Zealand, filed appeals against the open ocean farm consent by last Friday’s deadline.

DOC was seeking changes to the conditions imposed on the

Blue Endeavour consent, NZ King Salmon said. ‘‘Should those changes be made, DOC has signalled that it does not oppose the granting of the consent of the Blue Endeavour application.’’

The company did not provide further details of the appeals.

NZ King Salmon said it would enter into mediation with DOC, the McGuinness Institute and any other interested parties next year.

The Nelson-based company wants to set up the open ocean salmon farm after being forced to fallow three of its warmer farms in Pelorus Sound as rising sea temperatures killed significant numbers of its fish.

The company has previously flagged that harvesting in the open ocean site would not occur until at least the 2027 financial year.

The analysts have also previously warned that the anticipated investment returns may have weakened, as infrastructure costs are likely to have increased significantly since the project was last scoped, funding for the project is likely to require the company to raise additional capital, and positive outcomes for fish health are not certain.

NZ King Salmon reported a $24.5 million loss in the first half of its current financial year to July 31. Last financial year it reported a $73m loss, after writing down the value of its assets by $59m, and changing its farming practices to cut back on the use of its warmer sites over summer.

The fish deaths put NZ King Salmon under some financial pressure last year – its debt ballooned, and it breached its banking covenants with its lender BNZ.

The company’s chief executive Grant Rosewarne resigned abruptly last month with immediate effect, having been in the role since 2009.