Led by Manāki Whitebait, the project was launched in December last year at the former Ocean Beach Freezing Works in Bluff, but yesterday reached a milestone when it had its first farming harvest.
Project manager Paul Decker said the project aimed to provide a year-round supply of whitebait to consumers and reduce pressure on wild fishing stocks.
He was pleased with the first test run.
"As you are building the facility, you need to test everything to make sure everything is working as you go.
"I am absolutely pleased. I knew it was going to be bloody great, but the fact it was actually great gave us confidence it worked and we are on track."
They harvested a couple of hundred kilograms of whitebait yesterday and he believed the farm would be fully operational by October.
Two-hundred-and-fifty kilograms could be produced every two weeks, with plans to scale up to 50,000kg per year.
Restaurants and the industry were already expressing strong interest, he said.
"The Whitebait Project has proven that we can scale up the production of whitebait. We now need to grow the business to produce 150 to 200 tonnes per year."
Mr Decker said the aim was to produce 26 tonnes by next year.
This would "create approximately 10 jobs, with a view of growing this to 40 jobs in all areas of the production, supply chain and sales and marketing of whitebait”.
Mr Decker was excited as it had taken years of research and studies to reach that point.
For him, the most important aspect of the project was its sustainability.
One of the company’s goals was also to introduce live whitebait supplies into the wild so stock numbers could increase, Mr Decker said.
It started trying to breed the whitebait species in captivity for their eventual release back into restored habitats and it managed to successfully breed all five New Zealand whitebait species, four of which were endangered.
"New Zealand has to step up — to stay clean and green, we need to make sure recreational whitebaiting continues as a customary activity.
"It would be quite disgraceful if this doesn’t happen. I think having a sustainable farm base means that the system can control commercial harvest in the wild and ensure the future of whitebaiting."
