The inaugural Maori Innovation Award at the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards has been won by Precision Seafood Harvesting for its revolutionary technology that allows fish to be landed alive and in perfect condition.
The technology is being developed in a six-year Primary Growth Partnership programme between the Ministry for Primary Industries and fishing companies, Sanford, Sealord and Aotearoa Fisheries, al of which represents a combined investment of 48 million dollars.
According to Callahan Innovation, which sponsored the award, Precision Seafood Harvesting beat a strong field of finalists drawn from a record number of entries for a new category.
‘This is a transformative technology that New Zealand is leading the world in. We are very proud of all our fishing crew, science teams and the companies involved for their foresight and commitment to this innovation,’ said Aotearoa Fisheries CEO Carl Carrington who was at the awards event to represent the co-investors, commenting that and it is humbling to win from a field of exceptional finalists.
The Precision Seafood Harvesting technology way replaces traditional trawl nets with modular harvesting systems, a more sustainable way of fishing and producing higher quality seafood. When fishing inshore species, fish are brought on board alive in water. There is also the potential for undersized or unintended catch to be returned to the sea with a much higher survivability rate. When used to harvest deep water species such as alfonsino or hoki, the new technology is reducing the damage to the fish, increasing the quality and adding significant value to the catch.
Fish caught using Precision Seafood Harvesting are set to be launched as a new premium food product under the Tiaki brand name that will be available to consumers later this year.
