A Southland seafood company has been fined $39,000 for biosecurity breaches involving illegally moving thousands of oysters and mussels, which the Ministry for Primary Industries says put the iconic Bluff oyster fishery at risk.
Fresh is Best NZ Limited pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Invercargill District Court on 13 charges under the Biosecurity Act, following a successful prosecution by the Ministry.
“The action taken by Fresh is Best was negligent and a serious breach of the controlled area notice put in place to prevent the spread of the unwanted organism Bonamia ostreae,” says MPI director of investigations and compliance support, Gary Orr.
“Our investigation found Fresh is Best arranged the illegal commercial movement of 6,720 individual live pacific oysters and 2,069kg of live green lipped mussels from the Upper South contained zone to the Lower South protected zone, in breach of the controlled area notice, on 7 occasions.”
Mr Orr says the movement of these oysters and mussels from a contained zone to Bluff, where flat oysters are in a protected zone, created a significant risk to the iconic wild oyster population.
“Bonamia ostreae has had a significant effect on the flat oyster population, and we all need to do our part to prevent it from spreading and threatening the future of the natural resource and industry. The movement controls are well understood by the industry and have been in place across areas of the south island since 2015.”
“Biosecurity rules are in place to protect fisheries for everyone. While there is no evidence this offending caused a biosecurity issue on this occasion, we will always take action when we find evidence of the rules being broken.”
The MPI investigation began in 2024, when a biosecurity inspector discovered evidence that consignments of green lipped mussels were being moved illegally by a group of seafood producers, transporters, and processors.
Today’s sentencing of Fresh is Best ends a major investigation by MPI where four other companies – Ikana New Zealand Limited, Aroma Aquaculture Limited, Waimana Marine Limited and Sollys Freight Limited – have all been sentenced for their roles in the biosecurity offending.
“The majority of people who work in the aquaculture industry are responsible and do the right thing by following all rules and regulations,” Mr Orr says.
People can report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 476 224).
