King Salmon confident despite harvest woes

Marlborough-based New Zealand King Salmon says it is on track to post a $25 million annual profit from its eight farms despite tonnes of fish dying due to hot weather last summer.

The losses prompted the company to import stock to maintain sales, and seek $116,000 from a Ministry for the Environment waste fund to help dispose of about 1000 tonnes of dead fish and 2000 tonnes of fish faeces from the seabed.

‘‘We are also continuing our positive discussions with the Government regarding Ministry for Primary Industries plans for potential relocation of some of our farms to cooler, deeper waters,’’ managing director Grant Rosewarne said.

‘‘They would improve environmental, social and economic outcomes, and allow testing of new technologies as we plan for the next 30 years of salmon farming.’’

Despite the farming challenges, export sales were ‘‘highly successful’’ especially the marketing of the company’s premium O¯ ra King and Regal brands sold in hundreds of restaurants overseas, he said.

NZ King Salmon’s annual report for the period ending in June 2018 will be published with more detail in August.

Highlights from the report include sales volumes of 7750 metric tonnes compared with 7223 tonnes in 2017. The company’s profit after tax in 2017 was $22m.

Rosewarne said prices had lifted with positive demand and limited supply partly due to the high summer temperatures affecting salmon survival rates.

He expected 2019 harvest volumes in line with the 2018 year, at about 8000 metric tonnes, and death rates well below last summer.

NZ King Salmon would continue its annual investment of about $13m to lift performance ‘‘and unlock the full environmental and economic potential from the existing farm consents’’.

It is the world’s largest aquaculture producer of the king salmon species and produces four main brands – O¯ ra King, Regal, Southern Ocean, and Omega Plus – as well as the NZ King Salmon label. The company employs about 500 people.