SEAWATER BEGINNINGS

1 - SUSTAINABLY FARMED

We operate a number of sea farms in the Marlborough Sounds, at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. We work within the environmental constraints of each farm and manage production levels within agreed consented conditions. This includes management plans to guide appropriate interaction with marine wildlife.

2 - ARRIVAL OF SMOLT

Smolt arrive in custom-made tankers which are designed to maintain a cool, oxygenated environment. Each batch of smolt are transferred to a dedicated pen. In order to minimise stress, there is no handling of the fish while they grow.

3 - FEEDING

King salmon require a unique diet for optimal health and growth, and the formulation of this diet changes throughout their lifecycle. The main components of the feed are complex fats and quality proteins, along with carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals.

Salmon are fed several meals a day — more often when they are smaller, and less often as they grow. Underwater cameras closely monitor appetite and activity during each feed, to ensure our salmon receive just the right amount.

4 - HARVEST

Our King salmon typically take around 18 months to reach an optimal harvest weight of around 4kg.

We gently corral the fish with specially designed nets. The salmon are transferred to our harvest barge, where they are humanely dispatched by a method like the Japanese ‘ike jime’ technique. This involves stunning and immediate bleeding.

They are then transported on ice by specialised tankers straight to our Nelson processing facility.