Mussel industry self-destructing, says stalwart

BY BLAIR ENSOR

In the final of a five-part series in the lead-up to the Havelock Mussel Festival tomorrow, Blair Ensor talks to Port Underwood mussel farmer Ray Thomas, who says the industry is in meltdown.

Marlborough mussel growers are feeling the squeeze of one of the worst price slumps in the industry's history, but it's not their fault, says Port Underwood mussel farmer Ray Thomas.

A price war between major processors, who are undercutting one another in the international market, is forcing independent growers from the industry, he says.

"The price is absolutely diabolical.

"The few independent growers left are bone heads and just keep going ... we're either strong-willed or stupid."

He is getting up to $650 per tonne green weight (with shells) compared with $1230 four years ago.

Late last year, former Aotearoa Seafood marketing manager John Grant said the half-shell industry was facing unnecessarily tough times because members had become a "soft touch" for importers pursuing low prices.

For major processors, the market price for half-shell mussels, mainly exported to North America and Australia, dropped from $2 a pound (453 grams) to $1.40 a pound.

Ray, a 66-year-old stalwart of the local industry, believes with better marketing, quality New Zealand greenshell mussels could fetch up to three times that price.

"We are self destructing and the farmers have got no control in it," says Ray.

If it was not for a significant cut to his operational costs, he would not be turning a profit.

In a mussel farming career spanning 23 years, he has had his fair share of ups and downs, but whenever prices have fallen significantly new processors have emerged and boosted prices again. This time round he is confident there will be a rebound, but he is not quite sure what is going to spur it on. Government intervention could be an option, he says.

Ray was always destined for a career on the ocean.

His father Doug Thomas was a fisherman in Bluff, so "it's in my blood".

His first foray into the industry all those years ago came after working as a contract engineer for a mussel company.

After seeing farmers pull mussels from the water every 12 months, he thought he would give it a crack.

"I thought it was a good way to make money, without working much."

He started with one line of mussels, but his farming operation now encompasses five hectares in Kaikoura Bay and Separation Point, both in Port Underwood.

He believes Port Underwood's mussels are much fatter than their Pelorus counterparts because of rich food source provided by tidal flows from the Kaikoura trench.

The meat-to-shell ratio of Port Underwood mussels is 42 per cent compared with 30 to 35 per cent in the Pelorus Sound, he says.

Overseeing the whole operation from spat to harvest is very rewarding. After a good crop, "You puff out your chest and say `didn't I do a good job of that?'," he says.

"It's a real shame the way the industry is going, but it's a matter of closing the wallet and chequebook when times are tough."

- The Marlborough Express