Fourth NZ company fined for shellfish biosecurity breaches

Southland seafood company Fresh is Best NZ Limited has been sentenced and fined $39,000 for biosecurity breaches involving the illegal movement of thousands of oysters and mussels, and putting the South Island's Bluff oyster fishery at risk.

On July 29, 2026, the company was sentenced in the Invercargill District Court on 13 charges under the Biosecurity Act, following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The company pleaded guilty to all charges. 

"Our investigation found Fresh is Best arranged the illegal commercial movement of 6,720 individual live Pacific oysters, and 2,069kg of live green-lipped mussels from the Upper South contained zone to the Lower South protected zone, in breach of the controlled area notice, on seven occasions," says Gary Orr, MPI Director of Investigations and Compliance Support. "The action taken by Fresh is Best was negligent, and a serious breach of the controlled area notice put in place to prevent the spread of the unwanted organism Bonamia ostraeae."

Bonamia ostreae has had a significant effect on the flat oyster population, so moving the oysters and mussels from the contained zone to Bluff created a significant risk to the wild oyster population. "We all need to do our part to prevent it from spreading and threatening the future of the natural resource and industry," says Orr. "The movement controls are well understood by the industry, and have been in place across areas of the South Island since 2015."

This latest sentencing is the latest in a string of companies investigated by MPI for biosecurity offences. Four other companies -Ikana New Zealand Limited, Aroma Aquaculture Limited, Waimana Marine Limited and Sollys Frieght Limited- have all been sentenced since MPI began their investigation in 2024, after a biosecurity inspector discovered evidence that consignments of green-lipped mussels were being moved illegally by a group of seafood producers, transporters and processors.