Dave Sharp, Chairman of the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council (SeaFIC) said the new entity is the outcome of a comprehensive review undertaken by SeaFIC in consultation with industry participants.
Earlier this year the SeaFIC Board went out to industry proposing a new direction aimed at delivering better value through a new national body that would represent whole of industry, while allowing for greater autonomy of individual sector groups, he said.
The result is a new entity called Seafood New Zealand which becomes the public face of the industry, taking over the operational roles previously undertaken by SeaFIC.
Seafood New Zealand operates within a governance model that has three key interlinking parts including:
- A central, cooperative seafood industry-wide organisation through Seafood New Zealand focused on providing a range of services to the seafood industry and the Sector Representative Entities (SREs).
- Greater sector-specific representation and responsibility via five Sector Representative Entities (SREs) including the already established aquaculture, deepwater, paua, rock lobster entities, and an emerging inshore finfish sector.
- A dedicated focus on industry strategy through Seafood Strategy New Zealand Limited, aimed at ensuring a broader strategic perspective for the industry.
Like all primary industries in New Zealand, we need to ensure we have the best structure in place to meet the demands of a difficult economy while continuing to ensure good environmental stewardship in how we harvest New Zealand seafood, Mr Sharp said.
I am confident the changes will achieve this by delivering a more coordinated whole-of-industry approach while enabling improved representation for the diversity of industry participants through targeted services.
