{"id":66410,"date":"2023-07-06T10:41:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T22:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/?p=66410"},"modified":"2023-07-24T13:41:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T01:41:47","slug":"young-achiever-looks-to-sea-for-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/people\/young-achiever-looks-to-sea-for-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Young achiever looks to sea for opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Emma Blom, AgriHQ cadet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world is your oyster when it comes to opportunities in aquaculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So says Ben Pierce, who was recently recognised for his achievements and contribution to the New Zealand seafood industry when he was named a finalist in the future leader category of the NZ Seafood Sustainability Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Bynevelt of Sanford took out the title with Troy Bramley and Clare Edwards of Tora Collective and Pierce runners-up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Pierce was studying at Lincoln University for a Bachelor of Commerce he needed a summer job and ended up at Sanford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020 he completed his degree and continued to work in the industry as a deckhand on a mussel harvesting vessel and slowly worked his way up the ranks after getting a taste of the opportunities open to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completing further studies in Sustainable Aquaculture, Pierce became a freelance kina fisherman and is currently the marketing assistant and project developer at Mills Bay mussels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees many more opportunities in the sector, not just for himself but for other driven, passionate people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pierce has gained an enviable  position in the NZ seafood sector and now works alongside the Food & Fibre Youth Network, representing the seafood industry on the council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food & Fibre Network acts as a pan-sector voice for young people across seafood, horticulture, forestry and arable farming. The council\u2019s aim is to act as a communication channel to relay youths\u2019 perspectives on industry topics to decision-making bodies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This involves networking with young professionals in each primary industry sector and understanding their perspectives. Pierce, alongside Josh Wyber and Maegen Blom, created Young Fish Aotearoa NZ after seeing a youth connection missing in the industry.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Fish Aotearoa NZ is a networking organisation for young professionals in the seafood industry targeting people from all over NZ under the age of 35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s open to anyone, you don\u2019t have to be working in the industry, just generally interested,\u201d Pierce said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, young professionals from all along the supply chain are involved, including fishermen, scientists, sales representatives, processors and individuals from coastal communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to build up strong cultures in coastal and aquaculture towns while building future leaders, recruiting and retaining people, and identifying and developing leadership talent in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Events take place throughout New Zealand including Twizel, Christchurch, Blenheim, Havelock, Nelson and Auckland, allowing like-minded individuals to connect, develop and learn from each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aquaculture and seafood sector has growth opportunities in all areas from production to marketing and sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s aquaculture growth strategy sees achievable potential to grow the industry from its current $600 million status to a $3 billion industry by 2035. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pierce believes that the industry is young and has room for growth and innovation, stating that \u201cthere are lots of species that we are not farming yet that we can\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Pierce recognised for contribution to the NZ seafood industry. \n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":66411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Ben Pierce sees many more opportunities in the aquaculture sector, not just for himself but for other driven, passionate people.\u00a0","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[13],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t