Iwi-owned seafood processing factory opens in Porirua

Moana New Zealand and Port Nicholson Fisheries opened a new seafood processes factory in Porirua on Wednesday.

The Wellington Kaimoana Hub is the third joint venture between the two iwi-owned companies and will process seafood products like snapper, blue cod and crayfish for international markets.

Moana board chairperson Rachel Taulelei told RNZ the $16.5 million facility was one of the most effective, most efficient and most sophisticated in Aotearoa, and the largest in the Wellington region.

"All kaimoana is premium as a base level. Everything that we're able to derive from the moana is valuable and there's nothing we like doing more, as Māori entities, then feeding our people and feeding the world."

New Zealand seafood was well-renowned around the world Taulelei said, and sought after in markets from China to the Middle East, Europe and beyond

"To be able to do more of that is great for the markets that we send it to, but also our iwi owners. Moana has 58 iwi owners, Port Nicholson Fisheries has 20 iwi as limited partners and 13 iwi partners who come through the iwi collective partnership.

"Which ever way you turn this development, the seafood hub - in its ability to grow long-term investment strategy - is of great benefit to iwi in their ability to generate wealth through assets."

Being Māori in the fishing industry was both a responsibility and an opportunity, Taulelei said.

"We are, in our mind, kaitiaki and we have taonga assets. We work within the seafood industry in a wise and enduring way.

"From the beginning we've been fishermen, we've been farmers, we've been traders from the get-go - and through settlement processes Moana now has the privilege and responsibility to manage our commercial activity in this space."

Port Nicholson Fisheries board chair Mark Ngata said both organisations had much to be proud of.

"At Port Nicholson Fisheries, we see the consolidation of our Wellington operations as a continuous testament to kotahitanga and living true to our shared values of kaitiakitanga, whakapapa, manaakitanga and whakatipuranga."

The new hub was a long-term investment strategy for both businesses, Taulelei said.

"It drives efficiencies across their operations. It supports growth and exports and jobs both in the short and the long-term. There's currently 45 individuals working at the hub, but we have capacity to double that.

"One of the other things that sometimes we overlook is that iwi owners can be incredibly proud of our ability to make these investments and these advances for us within this industry."

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