Whakatōhea Mussels has made substantial investment into its wastewater system to ensure waterway contamination that left a bad smell over Ōpōtiki township last year, never happens again.

The company, which employs over 200 full-time staff in Ōpōtiki, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to charges laid by Bay of Plenty Regional Council. These included two charges of unlawfully discharging wastewater from its mussel processing factory and one charge of discharging odour.

It has been fined $135,000 for the incident that resulted in 79 odour complaints from at least 35 different people between January 24 and the end of March 2025.

“We have learned a great deal from what occurred and have used those learnings to strengthen our systems and the way we operate going forward,” chief executive Peter Vitasovich, pictured below, said.

“The impact it had on the local community and environment did not align with the company’s high standards and values.

“We know this incident caused concern, and we understand the importance of protecting our environment and the communities we operate in.”

The company holds a resource consent granted by the regional council in 2021 to discharge treated water from its factory to a constructed wetland, which then discharges to the Duke Street drain.

Between January 27 and March 7, and on March 28, 2025, it discharged wastewater into the drain that had been insufficiently treated.

Complainants had described the odour as “relentless”, “unbearable and nauseating”.

A victim impact statement from an Ōpōtiki resident was submitted to the court. The resident kept an “odour diary” recording odour on 30 separate dates.

He stated the odours were so frequent that he had to vacate his home and stay with family and friends.

A long-time neighbour sold their property in the neighbourhood, partly due to the odour.

When he raised this with the defendant, he felt “belittled and frustrated and angry” at the way this was treated, the statement said.

Another local business holding a resource consent to take water from the Duke Street drain needed to truck water in from another location.

Dead eels were seen floating in the drain.

A decision by Judge Prudence Steven, after a hearing in Tauranga District Court on May 11 this year, attributed the offending to system failures and inadequate oversight in the management of the business activities, “in part due to a lack of experience and appropriate expertise within the organisation itself”.

She accepted that Whakatōhea Mussels had not wilfully ignored the poor performance of the system or acted recklessly in continuing to discharge waste once the system failures had been identified.

“From the outset, the defendant was actively seeking advice to identify and remedy the root cause of the offending and engaging with the council on a regular basis about that.”

Vitasovich said the company valued its engagement with the regional council throughout the process and looked forward to continuing a positive working relationship as they moved forward collaboratively.

Since the wastewater breakdown incident in January 2025, Whakatōhea Mussels had strengthened and enhanced its existing wastewater management processes, supported by substantial investment in upgraded systems, additional equipment and comprehensive staff training programmes.

“Early testing confirms these enhanced systems are performing effectively, further reinforcing operational resilience, regulatory compliance and long term reliability,” Vitasovich said.

“Whakatōhea Mussels remains focused on delivering positive outcomes for its people, its community, and the wider region it serves, while honouring its unique journey to guide the future and create sustainable value for shareholders, communities and generations to come.

“Our people are at the heart of who we are and what we do.”