New Zealand salmon sector will get its first wellboat in April
King salmon farmer leases vessel to support expansion ambitions
New Zealand King Salmon (NZKS) is to introduce the country’s first wellboat, it has announced.
Until now, New Zealand has been the only major salmon-producing country not using this technology.
“This is a transformational moment for our business and the New Zealand salmon sector – an important step in building a more resilient, efficient, and future-ready company,” said the company’s chief executive Carl Carrington in an article on the company's website.
“The wellboat strengthens the resilience of our core operations, lifts fish welfare standards, and provides greater flexibility to farm productively and efficiently, both now and into the future. As a core piece of infrastructure, it will also enable us to sustainably farm in the open ocean.”
New customer, new name
The 18-year-old wellboat, previously called the Ronja Nordic, has been appropriately renamed the Ronja King. It is currently on its way from Haugesund in Norway to Spain and is expected to arrive in New Zealand waters in April.
Once operational in New Zealand, the wellboat is expected to boost annual harvest volumes by around 2,000 tonnes annually, potentially generating NZ $60 million (£26.5m) or more in additional annual revenue. There would be an additional lift in harvest volumes and revenue once the company’s Blue Endeavour offshore site is operational and scaled.
The 57-metre-long Ronja King, operated under a long-term lease with Norwegian marine services provider Sølvtrans, has a combined well capacity of 1,000 cubic metres and a gross tonnage of 1,276 tonnes.
A game changer
“The wellboat fundamentally changes our farming approach, equipping us to scale responsibly while maintaining stability and high performance across our existing farms. It’s truly a game changer,” said Carrington.
Blue Endeavour will be New Zealand’s first open-ocean salmon farm and the world’s first of its kind for King (Chinook) salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).
Located in the Cook Strait that separates New Zealand’s North and South Islands, the site is seven kilometres off South Island’s Cape Lambert, outside the Marlborough Sounds.
The farm will comprise two blocks of 10 x 160 metre circumference circular pens. Each pen will hold 100,000 fish. Once fully operational, Blue Endeavour will have the capacity to produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of King salmon, with anticipated annual revenue of $350 million. This will more than double the size of NZKS’s existing business.
Blue Endeavour pilot pens are already in Te Hoiere / Pelorus Sound, marking progress towards open ocean farming.
