Why the Fishing Industry is Important to New Zealand

	earns over $1.3 billion a year in exports
	supplies an increasing portion of New Zealand's national diet
	employs around 10,000 people.

This Fact Sheet shows how the fishing industry has grown in importance to New Zealand's national economy and the main factors that have allowed the industry to grow.

Measuring industry growth The New Zealand market Overseas markets Growth factors

Measuring industry growth
New Zealand earns 50 times more from fisheries exports today ($1.3 billion a year) than it did in the 1970s (less than $20 million a year).

As well as providing New Zealand with more income to import other products, this growth has also increased employment: not only more jobs in catching and processing fish, but also more jobs in transporting and marketing fish and providing other services to fishing companies.

Year	No. of people
1945	2100
1963	2800
1975	4100
1987	7905
1991	8430
1995	9951
1997	10,173
1999	10,620

Year	Exports
1975	17.9
1979	57.9
1983	285.5
1987	676
1991	961
1992	1,217
1998	1,233
1999	1,330
2000	1,480

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The New Zealand market for fish

Between 1987 and 1991, the value of fish sold in New Zealand rose by 21 percent - and continues to increase. The fishing industry has promoted seafood to New Zealanders, emphasising value for money, healthiness and variety. Most New Zealanders are still conservative in their choice of fish, preferring "traditional" species like snapper. Until recently we virtually ignored other fish that are abundant in our waters, like squid and hoki.

Year	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
Sales	114	106	118	134	138	121	122

Year	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Sales	116	121	122	127	129	130

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Overseas markets
Our most important export markets for fish products have been Japan, the United States and Australia. We also sell big quantities to Europe (mainly France and the United Kingdom) and Asian countries including Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

In recent years the main export species have been orange roughy, rock lobster, squid, hoki and snapper.

The contribution made by each species can change a lot from year to year. For example, squid peaked at over $120 million in 1989, but earned less than $50 million in 1991. In this case, the main reasons were poor catches and low world prices. In 1992, earnings for squid had recovered to $80 million. In 1998 earnings were $64 million, down from over $70 million the previous year.
Click here to see New Zealand's big export earners

	exchange rates
	the amount of added-value processing done in New Zealand
	overseas prices
	the success of the fishing season
	quota levels
	fish quality
	natural environmental problems.

Setting catch limits through individual quota limits, is one tool to prevent over-fishing and assist in the conservation of our fisheries. If quota levels are reduced to conserve a fishery, as has happened with orange roughy and snapper, then fewer fish are available for export.

An example of a natural environmental problem is the toxic algae that poisoned shellfish in early 1993. This crisis halted shellfish exports, costing New Zealand millions of dollars in lost trade.

	non-tariff trade barriers
	environmental sanctions (eg, bans on importing fish caught by driftnetting or bans on certain types of packaging)
	technical barriers (eg import restrictions imposed by other countries for health or quarantine reasons).

The Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) helps open up export markets by helping to negotiate acceptable technical standards with overseas governments.

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Industry growth factors
The following are the main factors that have allowed New Zealand's fishing industry to grow so quickly:

Staking claim to our water
In 1978, New Zealand declared a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), covering 3.37 million square kilometres, with exclusive rights to manage the fisheries in this zone. Instead of our fish being caught by foreign companies, nearly all commercial fishing in this area is now done by New Zealand companies.

Improving technology
The technology for finding and catching different fish species has improved. Since the early 1980s, New Zealand's fishers have developed ways of catching valuable deepwater species like hoki and orange roughy. We are also doing more added-value processing of fish before export.

Growing markets
To sell the increased quantity of fish we produce, the industry has had to expand its markets for fish products both in New Zealand and overseas.

Increasing understanding through research
Fisheries scientists are learning more about our fisheries stocks, so we're better at judging how much can be safely caught each year and setting a Total Allowable Catch for each type of fish, so that we don't harvest too many.

Managing our Fisheries
New Zealand has a way of controlling fish harvesting, known as the Quota Management System. Fishers must buy or already hold ACE for specific types of fish in specific areas, giving them the right to harvest the fish for which they have ACE. The ACE is generated from quota held by a person who may or may not be the fisher. Quota and ACE can be bought or sold. This system means fishers can plan for the future with confidence, and without depleting our fish stocks.

Farming fish and shellfish
Companies are developing new techniques for aquaculture. Farmed salmon and mussels earn tens of millions of dollars in exports, and there are possibilities for farming other species such as paua and rock lobsters.

Enhancing our fish stock
Work is also being done to build up "wild" stocks of fish and shellfish. For example, the Tasman Bay scallop fishery has been greatly improved by "seeding" the scallop beds with young scallops that have been trapped and grown in special nets.

For more information click on any link below.

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