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December 21, 2022
Unity needed to make best of Māori fisheries
Adam Gifford
Posted On December 21, 2022
Download AudioA call for unity in the Māori seafood sector as the largest company looks back on a tough year.
Moana New Zealand reported net profit after tax of $12.0 million for the 2022 financial year.
Chair Rachel Taulelei says coming 25 percent over plan across its directly managed inshore fisheries and shellfish businesses helped offset a big hit in its 50 percent share of Sealord earnings.
Its ika finfish sales were steady, kōura earnings were $1.7m ahead of plan and live pāua sales exceeded plan by 41 percent, with canned paua also holding its price.
She says the sector is tough, with supply chain issues, increasing fuel costs, labour shortages and a finite amount of quota, and Maori need to work together to make it a success.
“We touch every part of the chain but it takes a lot of investment, a huge amount of capital to actually capitalise on those opportunities. Independently it’s very hard, time consuming and cost intensive, but if we put ourselves around a table, if we put our heads together and thought really smartly about how could Maori excel in a collaborative, cohesive way I really think we can make the most of what was envisaged for us 30 years ago at the time of settlement,” Ms Taulelei says.
Moana will pay a $4.8 million dividend to iwi shareholders.
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