Thirty-three people are to lose their jobs when Takitimu Seafoods closes. Photo: Supplied / Google Maps
More than 30 jobs will be lost in Hawke's Bay with Ngāti Kahungunu announcing the closure of struggling fisheries company Takitimu Seafoods after years of losses.
Takitimu Seafoods was created in 2019, when the iwi's asset holdings company bought Hawke's Bay Seafoods, which had been at the centre of large-scale under-reporting of catches.
But it has been haemorrhaging money since, with $14.9 million worth of losses reported over the past three years, with the iwi board now saying it is no longer viable to continue.
"We have been working hard to right the waka over the last nine months," chairperson of Ngāti Kahungunu Asset Holdings Company Trevor Moeke said.
"But ultimately the business has a directive to be profitable for our iwi, so it can protect the interests of its members."
In a statement, the company said the effect Cyclone Gabrielle had on its operations dealt the final blow, with heavy losses forecast to continue.
It said the focus now was to support the 33 affected staff, who have been offered eight weeks' pay, with the wider iwi establishing what it has called a Manaaki Support Centre.
Ngāti Kahungunu chairperson Bayden Barber said the decision not to reopen was difficult, but it had to be done in the best interests of the iwi and its people.
Barber, who took over as chairperson last year, commissioned an independent review into Takitimu Seafoods.
It has been controversial within Ngāti Kahungunu, with heated questions from members at an iwi AGM in November.
"Its current situation is unlikely to improve for some time, therefore this is the best way forward," Barber said in a statement.
"It's a bottom line that our business interests are profitable as they ensure we enhance the mana and well-being of Ngāti Kahungunu."
The closure does not affect the iwi's settlement quota.