File photo: Stephen JaquieryA large salmon farm just off Stewart Island could put nearly $400 million into Southland households and lead to nearly 500 fulltime jobs. The proposed site of about 1300ha is located about 2km off the northern coast of Stewart Island, 13km northwest of Oban. At full production, the pens and feed barges will occupy about 100ha of coastal space, less than 8% of the proposed site. Great white sharks are present at Stewart Island from late summer to early winter, but they are largely absent during the rest of the year, the application said. The proposed site overlaps with great white shark habitat, and a major great white shark aggregation site was located 10km away at the Tītī Islands.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 03, 2026 16:19 UTC