Proposal to process oysters

A Rai Valley couple are hoping to sell Pacific oysters to the Marlborough public if plans for their oyster processing plant go ahead.

John and Faye Fosbender have applied to the Marlborough District Council for resource consent to run a small-scale seafood processing plant on their Hills Rd property.

They plan to grow and harvest their own oysters from a marine farm in Croisilles Harbour, just north of Okiwi Bay in the outer Marlborough Sounds.

They would land the harvested oysters at nearby Wairangi Bay or Okiwi Bay and transport them by four-wheel-drive vehicle 45 kilometres to their property.

They hope to have the plant running before Christmas, and aim to process at least 300 dozen oysters a week.

While Marlborough was known for its mussels, oysters were a relatively unknown market, Mr Fosbender said.

Lots were grown but not many were sold, he said.

"It's an opportunity to see more oysters in Marlborough; you just don't see them in very many places."

The couple run Deep Water Contracting, a marine farming contracting business in the Marlborough Sounds based mainly around mussels. "We are trying to branch out and do something different."

The business would be small-scale, and might only need two more employees, Mr Fosbender said.

He was "pretty confident" that the council would approve the consent, and he was hoping to get the processing plant up and running in about a month.

During the first year, trips are expected to be made weekly, with about 300 dozen oysters a week.

The oysters will be chilled, shucked and packaged and transported to Nelson and Marlborough retailers, who have already shown a lot of interest.

The plant would operate from August until March each year.

A council decision on the resource consent has been delayed while it gathers more information about the plans. Fairfax

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