25. John Hollows - KEEWAI (Ernslaw One)

In this episode Becks is joined by John Hollows the Aquaculture Manager from Ernslaw One. Now most people from around our parts know Ernslaw One  as a forestry company, so what are they doing with an aquaculture manager? Well John is farming kōura, or freshwater crayfish, in areas of forestry that would traditionally be non-productive in the business. These kōura are marketed locally to restaurants within Central Otago under the KEEWAI brand.

John is a freshwater cray fanatic having been cray-mad now for about 20 years and although discouraged from talking kōura at home, we let him loose here and asked all the curly questions about how they’ve built this incredible industry farming these unique little native critters. We dive into where they live, what they eat, how you harvest them and even how useful they might be at disposing of dead bodies. 

In all seriousness though this is a fascinating conversation and of utmost interest to me was the biodiversity and water quality benefits that the habitats for kōura and the kōura themselves provide. They are biological markers for water quality but can also generate a revenue off the back of ecological improvements. We also explore some of the indigenous history of the kōura and it’s establishment throughout Central Otago and the concept of sustainable harvest. 

Episode Resources:

• John Hollows | ⁠LinkedIn

• KEEWAI | Website

• Ernslaw One | ⁠Website

• John's E-book | ⁠⁠Freshwater Crayfish Farming - A Guide to Getting Started

• Rural Deliver video showcasing the Ernslaw One kōura operation in more depth including showing the hatchery | ⁠⁠YouTube video link

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