Northland oyster farm adopts new tech after Cyclone Gabrielle losses

Taniwha Oysters owners Xavier Dromgool and Pene Waitai are using a new oyster farming system developed by Marlborough-based FlipFarm Systems.

A Northland oyster farming business is testing the waters with new technology after being smashed during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Rough seas during the February 2023 tropical cyclone cost Taniwha Oysters about $200,000, as the storm knocked oysters off their sticks and damaged wooden farm structures across several sites.

The business is co-owned by husband-and-wife duo Pene and Lanice Waitai, and and Lanice’s brother Xavier Dromgool.

Pene Waitai said the storm was “a big whack” financially, and a stark reminder ongoing climate change is likely to make severe weather more common.

“We can’t go through that again ... so we’re just trying to evolve and do something different, and just be as ready as we can.”

The company, which has farmed Pacific oysters at several sites across Northland for domestic and export markets since 2015, decided to try a new oyster farming system developed by Marlborough-based FlipFarm Systems.

The FlipFarm system has been growing in popularity in the aquaculture world, with oyster farmers as far away as Maine in the USA having adopted it since it was released to market around 2020.

The system uses individual oyster cages chained together along a rope with buoyancy tanks keeping them floating just below the water.

The cages can be flipped, harvested, or refilled using specially designed equipment which is towed alongside an oyster barge, reducing the labour required and allowing farmers to work on their stock during almost any tidal phase.

The system also provides protection from severe weather, as the oysters are fully secured and can’t be knocked to the ground.

About 10% of Taniwha Oysters’ operation has now been converted to the FlipFarm system, Waitai said.

They are considering adding more in future.

“Hopefully, we can operate our farms with 50% FlipFarming and 50% original, which would give us a bit of versatility.

“We certainly wouldn’t be stressing so much when a storm comes through.”

Pene and Xavier are also finding the oysters in the FlipFarm cages grow much faster because they are kept just below the water surface at all times, giving them access to more food.

They hope this will allow them to start harvesting during the off-season, creating more consistent cashflow and the chance to keep workers employed during what would otherwise be a quiet period.

The FlipFarm system has the potential to make the oyster industry more resilient and better able to manage extreme weather events.

This allowed Taniwha Oysters to fund the equipment with a low-interest Business Regrowth Loan from ANZ.

ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson said the bank has loaned more than $52 million to customers impacted by extreme weather since Cyclone Gabrielle.

“The kind of weather we saw during Gabrielle will continue to have a huge impact on our farmers and growers, so it’s great to have seen so many of them come to us for help to finance the changes they need to future-proof their business,” Watson said.