{"id":73098,"date":"2023-09-18T16:38:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T04:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/?p=73098"},"modified":"2023-09-18T16:48:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T04:48:52","slug":"independent-fisheries-deal-puts-sealord-in-top-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/markets\/independent-fisheries-deal-puts-sealord-in-top-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent Fisheries deal puts Sealord in top spot"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Sealord has crowned itself New Zealand\u2019s lord of the sea with the acquisition of Independent Fisheries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fisheries company has announced it will become the country\u2019s biggest seafood business<\/a> through the agreement to buy privately owned Independent Fisheries, one of NZ\u2019s largest deep-sea fishing companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sealord won\u2019t comment on how much the deal cost but described it as \u201cthe largest financial transaction in the seafood sector\u201d since the Sealord deal in 1992, part of the M\u0101ori Treaty Settlement and which NZ First\u2019s Shane Jones described to BusinessDesk as the \u201cjewel in the crown\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones was part of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and also chair of Sealord in the early 2000s. He said it was one thing to amass quota and another thing to consistently generate earnings from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something I think that not only the owners will be conscious of, but it\u2019s a great challenge for the managers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important to note that M\u0101oridom is increasing its footprint across commercial fisheries,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed to the long-term lease between Moana and Sanford and Aotearoa Fisheries having a 50% ownership of Sealord, alongside Japanese fishing giant Nissui, which owns the remaining 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones said, presumably, the leases give both parties better access to a broader base of fishing quota that enables them to expand throughput and expand revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut all of these things require confidence that the earnings justify the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terra Moana partner Tony Craig said quota management systems aren\u2019t like factories \u2013 once a quota system is brought in, \u201cyou\u2019re then stuck with a volume production that you can\u2019t naturally increase\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quota management systems are good for the fisheries, he said, as it means they are managed better, but there is a social consequence through the loss of small-scale owner-operator fishermen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what this is all about, really. It\u2019s making sure those companies can remain profitable by doing what they\u2019ve always done because they can\u2019t diversify,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not like sheep farmers who can decide to go dairy farming if there\u2019s no money in sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Port Nicholson Fisheries director Tom McClurg said Sealord is the \u201clogical buyer\u201d of Independent Fisheries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re engaged in very similar fisheries, so I think it\u2019s a good fit with Sealord,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where implications lie for the sector, however, is how the fisheries sector gets around arising fleet renewal issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McClurg said Independent Fisheries is \u201cvery reliant\u201d on Ukrainian charter vessels to catch its quota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a piece in a bigger puzzle because all of the deepwater fishing companies in New Zealand have an issue with fleet renewal and how you finance those kinds of vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some ways, bringing Independent Fisheries and Sealord together is a step towards that big picture view of what vessels we really need in New Zealand, owned by New Zealand, to catch our deep-water fish.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Agreement to buy the deep-sea fishing company described as \u201cthe largest financial transaction in the seafood sector\u201d since 1992.\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":73099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[114],"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