Nine To Noon Around the motu: Ché Baker, editor of the Southland Times.
Mar 18, 2026
Ché Baker, editor of the Southland Times, offers local reporting and analysis on Southland issues. He discusses the risk of a Bluff Oyster Festival without oysters, a proposed $4 billion DataGrid AI campus and its power and jobs implications, a controversial $71k invoice for an OIA, and a local trainer chasing a Southern 3YO Guineas Triple Crown.
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Bluff Festival Faces Oysters Shortage
- Bluff Oyster Festival may run without oysters due to sustained bonamia disease impacts on stock quality and mortality.
- Ché Baker notes Ngāi Tahu not fishing this season and Barnes Wild ended last season early with just 45% quota caught, showing recurring fishery uncertainty.
Bonamia Drives Long Recovery Timelines
- Bonamia disease has caused 20–35% mortality over recent seasons, reducing numbers of legal-size oysters and prompting occasional fishing breaks for recovery.
- Oysters take seven years to grow, and historical fishery rests every ~20–25 years could aid recovery.
Massive AI Data Centre Coming To Southland
- DataGrid plans a NZ AI training and HPC campus worth about $4 billion and 78,000 m2, becoming the South Island's second largest power user at ~180 MW.
- The project signed a 140 MW, 15-year power deal with Mercury, leveraging South Island renewable generation.