Representatives from New Zealand King Salmon (NZKS) attended the official opening of the Westshore warehouse yesterday, marking another important milestone in the company’s growth journey.
The Westshore warehouse is a purpose-built, 3,200sqm facility at Port Marlborough which will serve primarily as a fish feed storage hub for NZKS – bringing feed closer to the company’s Marlborough seafarms and the country’s first open ocean salmon farm at Blue Endeavour.
The newly opened Westshore warehouse at Port Marlborough in Picton, serving as a feed storage facility for NZKS
The dawn ceremony, led by Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, was attended by representatives from Port Marlborough, NZKS, and Waikawa Fishing Company, which will also be operating in part of the facility.
The warehouse has been developed under a feed storage and delivery contract with Port Marlborough and aims to streamline feed storage logistics and supply chain efficiency.
The project will also help minimise NZKS’ environmental footprint. By positioning feed closer to farming sites, the company estimates that road transport associated
with the movement of salmon feed between Nelson and Picton will reduce by more than 90 percent.
New Zealand King Salmon Chief Executive Carl Carrington said: “Streamlining feed storage logistics and transport is important for our future resilience, which, given the current global context of fuel insecurity, only further amplifies the importance of these kinds of future-proofing initiatives.
“The Westshore warehouse project also represents an important collaboration with Port Marlborough, at a very exciting time for our company.
Representatives from Port Marlborough, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, Waikawa Fishing Company, and NZKS at the dawn ceremony
“The Ronja King, New Zealand’s first wellboat (fish transfer vessel), is on its way to New Zealand, and with pilot operations at our Blue Endeavour open ocean farm due to commence in the coming months, we are in for an exciting year,” says Carl.
Port Marlborough Chief Executive Rhys Welbourn said the official opening marks a milestone representing the port’s significant investment in infrastructure to support Marlborough’s growing blue economy.
“This new facility marks the next step in developing a Blue Economy precinct at Westshore,” says Rhys.
“It supports the growth of our aquaculture and seafood sectors, reduces pressure on the regional transport network, and enables more efficient use of the port’s marine infrastructure.”
The warehouse also unlocks significant opportunities for the wider industry in Marlborough. NZKS’ current primary feed supplier, BioMar Australia (BioMar), is expected to commence deliveries direct to Port Marlborough via its dedicated feed vessel – ECOline. This is expected to begin operations in the second half of this year.
The new BioMar ECOline vessel, due to deliver feed into the facility later this year
With a 3,000-tonne capacity, ECOline will not only help deliver environmental and operational gains for NZKS and strengthen industry collaboration, but the move also presents an opportunity for the wider aquaculture sector and the Marlborough region, through the establishment of a more direct shipping link between Marlborough and Australia.
The Westshore warehouse is expected to be operational from late April 2026.
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