Earlier this year, the Government announced a reduction of 20 percent total allowable catch limits for spiny rock lobster in the CRA3 fishery, reducing commercial catch limits from 195 tonnes to 156 tonnes, and which extends from Mahia North to Gisborne and East Cape. Port Nicholson Fisheries led the call to further reduce catch limits beyond government-enforced quota by an additional 10 percent to help in its recovery.

They also recognise that the business must be profitable to be able to reinvest in sustainable management. The Harvest Footprint Project is designed to deliver greater value through gear innovations, lighter benthic contact, selectivity and quality. 

Ultimately, our long-term goal is for Moana New Zealand to be recognised globally for best practice inshore harvest operations. Through the Harvest Footprint Project, we seek to enhance the wellbeing of our oceans while at the same time continuing with our commercial responsibilities on behalf of Iwi and for generations to come.

There are three pillars for the programme of work:

1. Understanding where we do and don’t fish
2. Understanding the future of fishing gear ultimately to lighten our benthic impact 
3. Responsible fisher behaviour and culture

For Phase Two, we will focus on:

Conducting four case studies to understand the impact of bottom contact methods to provide a pathway for fishers to reduce carbon emissions and further lighten their fishing gear to minimise benthic impact. They are:

1. Understanding benthic impact
2. Vessel fuel efficiency and propulsion improvement
3. Harvest efficiency and gear modifications
4. Fossil fuel alternatives.

The first case study completed was with Moana’s contract fisher Mike Terry, whose research into and investment in a new engine and propeller will create considerable savings with 64,000 litres less fuel burn per annum and improved vessel performance – all of which reduces the vessel’s carbon emissions impact and environmental footprint alongside other measures he’s put in place, and which other fishers can implement for their business to reduce their carbon footprint.

For more than a decade, Moana New Zealand has been supporting and jointly funding the start-up Precision Seafood Harvesting —the creators of FloMo—which has recently received top prize in an annual AgTech competition sponsored by Tesco in the United Kingdom.

Moana New Zealand CEO Steve Tarrant says, “We are proud to have been involved from the beginning with this innovative gear. I’d also like to acknowledge our contract fishers who helped us trial pilot nets—many who have quickly recognised its value, become early adopters of FloMo and continue to use it. Our contract fishers are the biggest users of this industry-changing gear, and we congratulate the team on this win and look forward to the next stage of the commercialisation of this technology.”

This is Moana’s sixth year measuring emissions, and although overall emissions have increased this past financial year, it’s pleasing  to note our intensity measures (emissions per revenue per tonne of production) have decreased through efficiency gains.  Within scope 1 and 2 (these are emissions that we have direct control over), intensity has decreased by 33% over FY19 and 15% over FY23.

The total greenhouse gas emissions for FY24 were 28,885.40 tCO2e. This is an increase of 23% from FY19 and a 33% increase from the previous financial year. The growth is mostly captured within Scope 3: upstream freight, purchased goods and services, and fuel related emissions, which is to be expected given the large increase in inshore ACE secured through the Sanford agreement at the beginning of the year.

Carbon reduction

Through our custom-built carbon dashboard, we’re measuring our carbon footprint in real time across all of our sites. This gives us the ability to track any fluctuations so we can see in real time the impact of changes we’re implementing.

We’re committed to absolute reduction of emissions wherever we can and with this in mind are focusing on our scopes 1 and 2 emissions. This includes:

• Undertaking a feasibility study for the gas boiler used to run our retort machines to make ready-to-eat meals in Palmerston North.
• Reducing refrigerant use.
• Undertaking a logistics review (given our business has changed significantly with increased ACE via the Sanford long-term lease agreement).
• Investigating solar power generation.


For Scope 3 emissions, this means:

• Supporting fishers to understand possible pathways for reducing carbon emissions using technology and propulsion upgrades.
• Looking at how we transport our product to export markets. This includes investigating moving from whole fish to fillet and for our ready to eat range, getting volumes to point that we are able to ship rather than airfreight.

Common among the suggestions are changes to business practices, products or methods and handling.

“We have made the change from nitrile gloves that take 200 years to break down into landfill to biodegradable nitrile gloves. These breakdown by 30% during the first 7 months, 90% in 1.5 years and within 2 years they will completely break down in landfill.”

— Palmerston North Paua Tuwa me te Kai Ora

“We are no longer using strapping tape on our export polybins. This has saved us both time and money. This week we would have strapped 142 polys, which is 340 metres.”

— Coromandel Tio 

“A big area of oyster farming equipment has been cleared from Coromandel and Wiri, and sent to Future Post to be made into fence posts. This recycling programme was a success to help clean up our oyster farms.”

— Wiri Tio 

“In our upcoming business risk and sustainability plan, we have included initiatives to change current refrigerants used in our freezers to a more environmentally friendly type. The proposed replacement gases will reduce global warming potential by 50-60%.”


— Chatham Islands Ika 

“We have stopped using polybins for all domestic deliveries where we control the cool-chain.”

— Wiri Tio

“Blue Bread Plastic Liners. We receive between 520 and 600 bread liners per week when we do bread processing. These liners currently go to the dump as we do not have an outlet for them. If our supplier changes to a clear plastic liner our current recycler can take these. Have sent an email to the supplier to request this.”

— Palmerston North RTE

An update on Moana and the Kai Ika Project partnership

Over the years, Moana has taken over as the leading commercial supplier of fish heads and frames to the Kai Ika Project, which expanded their operations to Wellington last year.

In FY24 alone, Moana donated over 5 metric tonnes of kaimoana to the organisation which it then distributed to communities. We continue to support this kaupapa to ensure people have the opportunity and access to quality kai.

Moana New Zealand and Port Nicholson Fisheries’ latest facility is a strategic investment to facilitate the expansion and growth for the business, to support the additional Ika volume generated from the Sanford Annual Catch Entitlements acquired in late 2023, and to enhance and support development in the Wellington region. Ika and live Pāua Tūwā (two of Moana New Zealand’s core business units) have consolidated their operations and are working alongside Port Nicholson Fisheries at the Porirua Todd Park site, which was built to suit the operational needs of both businesses. 

This new facility will ensure fin fish, pāua tūwā and kōura production needs are met, providing opportunities to grow exports and certainty for employment in the region long-term. This will enable premium seafood such as snapper, blue cod, kōura and pāua to make their way to new and existing global markets. The joint investment has produced the largest ancillary processing facility that has been built with capacity for growth and to provide additional production support for Moana and PNF’s main site in Auckland.

Upgrades and housekeeping are part and parcel of making our facilities fit-for-purpose, and sometimes, our kaimahi add their own unique touch to make their workplace as enjoyable as possible. At the tio farm in Coromandel, some minor renovations were made in the staff room by the shed. Tiana Smallfield, using her artistry and creativity, created an expansive mural inspired by her work environment and fellow workmate Dave Wood served as the resident “colour in-er” to help Tiana complete the scenic project.

With the purchase of Independent Fisheries Ltd, Sealord becomes New Zealand’s largest seafood company.

In February, Sealord acquired Independent Fisheries (IFL), the fourth largest deepsea fishing company in New Zealand.

According to CEO Doug Paulin, this was a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Sealord as businesses like these rarely come along in fishing.

Continued focus on sustainable fisheries management for Sealord

Looking after marine mammals as well as our fish stocks is an ongoing focus for Sealord, with some particular highlights in FY24 being reducing fur seal bycatch and taking a precautionary approach to managing orange roughy stocks.

Sealord successfully reduced fur seal (kekeno) captures by nearly a third this year by implementing innovative new measures including net binding, avoiding peak seal activity times and using seal exclusion devices. Figures show 49 seals were captured in the 2023/24 fishing year, down from 68 in 2022/23 and 78 in 2021/22.

Reducing fur seal bycatch became a strategic focus for Sealord following a population explosion of the protected marine mammals in recent years. Avoiding fur seals has become increasingly difficult for skippers, so a concerted effort has gone into exploring mitigation options to reduce captures.

Meanwhile, Sealord supported the Government’s recent 57% reduction in the orange roughy catch allowance for the Challenger Plateau. As the largest quota holder for the fishery, this decision significantly impacts Sealord, however keeping more fish in the ocean today means healthier stocks and more opportunity for tomorrow.

Sealord makes splash into garden
fertiliser market

Sealord launched into the $100 million landscaping fertiliser market with a new general liquid fertiliser made from a by-product produced during the production of fishmeal.

This business development opportunity for Sealord is about creating more value out of waste streams – benefitting both the environment and economic returns.

After two years of research, development and testing, Sealord Naked is now officially on shelves in Mitre 10, The Warehouse and online at www.sealordnaked.com