Moana New Zealand is the largest Māori owned seafood company and the second-largest seafood company in terms of quota volume and value in the country. Moana New Zealand is unique in that it is the only organisation that is owned entirely by Māori, 58 iwi across New Zealand.
Established in 2004 as Aotearoa Fisheries Limited through the Māori Fisheries Act, Moana New Zealand is an integral part of the inter-generational Māori Fisheries Settlement with the Crown.
The nature of that Settlement means that Māori will always be involved in New Zealand fisheries. Moana New Zealand is highly respectful of the ecosystems that it is part of; therefore, all activities and investments have a long-term perspective.
As guardians of Māori fishing assets, Moana New Zealand is dedicated to contributing to the wellbeing of future generations and connecting the world to the true taste and rare magic of New Zealand’s beautiful kaimoana.
The safety of its people is Moana New Zealand’s number one priority and the company was quick to respond to the Covid-19 situation. Prior to the lockdown it closed its sites to all visitors and non-essential contractors.
Moana New Zealand has implemented a number of new health and safety measures, these include social distancing measures with workers 2 metres apart and providing split shifts and split meal breaks to reduce the number of people in one place at any given time. The company has ramped up its cleaning of all surfaces and has implemented temperature checks of employees before work.
Restrictions have been placed around travel to and from work and protocols provided for when workers return home to keep their whanau safe. Employees have also been issued with permits outlining their requirement at work as a provider for essential services in case they are checked by police on their way to or from work.
This is all so that Moana New Zealand can continue to provide Kiwis with a delicious and healthy source of protein, during the lockdown and beyond, with its pre-packaged fresh fish fillets.
Moana New Zealand is the first to market to supply pre-packed seafood in a world-first barrier tray that uses sustainable raw materials and is able to be recycled. PLANTIC is a responsible packaging alternative to plastic designed to meet the growing demand for sustainability.
The majority of the tray uses materials from renewable and recycled resources with a very low oxygen transmission rate; this can result in an extension of shelf life for fresh proteins. With trips to the supermarket no longer a regular occurrence, this extra shelf life is vital.
Kiwi’s are loving it too. “We picked up snapper fillets last night from Pak n Save and both my wife and I found them extraordinary in their taste. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone at Moana for providing fillets during these exceedingly difficult times,” commented one happy shopper.
Moana New Zealand will continue to tend to its farms of oysters and blue abalone to be ready for the new normal after lockdown. Its contract fishers continue to head out fishing every day, and its operations team continue to go to work each day, something Moana New Zealand is incredibly grateful for.
“We’re proud and privileged to be providing New Zealanders with quality kai moana and kai ora. Not only are we keeping kiwis working safely, we’re providing delicious kai.”
Visit moana.co.nz
