Anti-coal campaigners are pleased to see the West Coast making an effort to move away from mining.

A new partnership could see the West Coast become the honey capital of New Zealand, as leaders attempt to turn the region's economy away from coal.

Development West Coast has announced it's investing in a wholesale honey business at Coal Creek near Greymouth, which will provide around 20-jobs over the next three years.

Greymouth's mayor Tony Kokshoorn thinks a new honey business could be the start of the West Coast's transition to sustainability.

He believes that honey has the potential be a big industry on the coast.

"We've been making a painful transition over the years, from extracting industries to sustainable industries, and this fits that brilliantly. Honey is a commodity that is always going to be sustainable."

Coal Action Network spokesperson Cindy Baxter commented that although transition it is only a small step, it's a step in the right direction.

"Looking to the coal to be the answer for the west coast is really short term thinking, and the more industries that can be started there the better."

She believes it's the kind of original idea the region needs.

"These sorts of transition industries are worth looking at and I think people have to be creative."

Mayor Kokshoorn said the hardest part of the process may be turning rugged miners into bee-keepers.