Pacific Marine Farms Limited is a wholly-owned company of AFL. It specialises in the export of raw Pacific oysters and mussels that are grown at eight marine farms from Parengarenga in Northland to the Marlborough Sounds.
The Pacific oyster is the company's foremost export product although the company originally started business with the native New Zealand rock oyster. While relatively easy to farm, the Pacific oyster is popular worldwide and farmed in large volumes in Japan, Korea, France and North America.
The oysters are mostly grown on inter-tidal farms where they are exposed at low water. The juvenile oysters or spat are caught predominantly in the Kaipara Harbour and transferred to Pacific Marine Farms to mature. It takes between 14 and 18 months for the oysters to grow to a harvestable size.
The key to Pacific Marine's success is the high standards that it maintains. New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where raw oysters are accepted by the international market because the level of toxins and pollution in overseas waters has meant offshore buyers are wary of any raw seafood.
The company exports half of its produce to Australia and 40 percent to Japan, US, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The company has also combined with other oyster farmers to develop the Japanese market under a brand name JEMCO.
Domestically, the company has relationships with Maori marine farmers in Parengarenga, Northland and provided capital and assistance with farming methods in return for farmers supplying product to the company. At the height of the season, Pacific Marine employs around 100 staff, including workers at its processing plants in Coromandel and Whangarei.
