Sanford Ltd. on Monday announced that it plans to close its Kaeo oyster processing facility.
The New Zealand company attributed the decision to a shortage of oysters to process as a result of mortalities from the OsHV-1 virus that has decimated young oysters that were growing for harvest in the next two years.
Sanford is working on a number of initiatives to mitigate the impact of the virus. However, at this stage, the company is not anticipated that these initiatives will have a consequential impact on the stock available for processing in future years.
The Kaeo site will continue to be used as the base for Sanford’s marine farming operations in Northland while the company attempts to identify ways of mitigating the effects of the virus.
The plant closure will result in the loss of 15 permanent positions and 15 seasonal jobs. Sanford is working with Kaeo employees, government agencies and Northland community and business leaders to help find employment prospects.
“We are already putting in p lace a job search program, contacting major employers in the Northland area in case of any vacancies appropriate for any of our team. We are also asking all Sanford plants and fleet operations to identify any vacancies throughout the group,” said Eric Barratt, managing director of Sanford.
