Christchurch seafood company prosecuted over 330 tonnes of mussels from parasite-infected area

Monday, 16 March 2026

Ikana New Zealand exports seafood across the world, including to Asia and the USA. (Unrelated, file picture)

A Christchurch shellfish exporter “dropped the ball” in receiving 330 tonnes of unpermitted mussels from an infected zone, risking Aotearoa’s reputation in a $390 million growth industry.

Ikana New Zealand, which sends seafood around the globe including to the USA and Asia, was fined $30,000 at the Christchurch District Court over Biosecurity Act breaches.

The breaches related to 250,000kg of mussels obtained from Aroma Aquaculture, plus a further 80,000kg from Waimana Marine, across 35 movements during 2023 and 2024, according to the summary of facts.

The mussels originated from an “infected” zone in the upper South Island known to harbour the oyster-killing parasite Bonamia Ostraea. As such, moving them them requires a permit and special measures to stop the parasite spreading.

In the past, Bonamia Ostraea has “severely damaged and in some instances entirely decimated oyster fishery areas” and there are no proven methods for its eradication once it takes hold, the summary said.

A biosecurity inspector provided Ikana with a copy of the relevant regulations, including the permit requirement, in July 2023. After its breaches came to light, the company obtained a permit in October 2024.

Ikana New Zealand was the recipient of 330,000kg of mussels from an “infected” zone, without the correct permit. (Generic image)

“This imposed new strict biosecurity operating protocols required to be undertaken on each movement, by the harvester, transporter, and defendant,” the summary said, noting Ikana was not previously adhering to these protocols.

New Zealand’s green-lipped mussel industry exports rely heavily on the country’s image and unlawfully moving them poses a “significant reputational risk”. The industry hoped to grow exports from $390m in 2023 to $1 billion by 2035.

In court, defence barrister Grant Fletcher said his client received thousands of tons of mussel over its history without issue. The breaches followed a change in supplier during a “very difficult” business period, he explained.

“The simple explanation is, staff were busy and they should have had a closer look at the permitting requirement,” Fletcher said.

“There was an assumption that everyone else involved in the process - the mussel farmer, the trucking company, and the receiver of the mussels - that the permit was still in play, because that was the way things had worked previously.”

The barrister described Ikana’s breaches as a “systems failure” and said the company “fully accepts that they did drop the ball and they should have done better”. He pointed out the other companies involved also dropped the ball.

Ministry for Primary Industries prosecutor Paddy Wood said the offending was not driven by commercial gain, but there had been one as a result.

He said there could have been a “huge fallout internationally” if the one of the mussel shipments had spilled into a waterway during transit.

Judge Tony Zohrab agreed Ikana “dropped the ball”, but recorded the potential for harm was high and, if realised, possibly irreversible.

Considering Ikana’s early guilty plea and previous good character, he fined the company a total $30,000 across eight individual and one representative biosecurity charges.