New Zealand leads the world in its initiatives to ensure the careful and sustainable management of fishing through its Quota Management System (QMS). The QMS operates by limiting the total catch allowed from each fishery while ensuring quota holders have maximum flexibility in how they harvest their catch.
Each year the Ministry of Primary Industries sets the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) for the following fishing season. The TACC is based on annual stock assessments, catch monitoring and landed catches, which allows the Ministry to adjust the commercial catch according to the abundance of fish stocks.
Quota is a property right in New Zealand. Ngāi Tahu is a major owner of quota shares as an outcome of the Treaty Fisheries Settlements of 1989 and 1992.
The TACC generates an Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) for the year for each quota owner, based upon the number of quota shares owned. ACE is expressed in tonnes of fish and can be traded between commercial fishers.
Through the ownership and management of fishing quota, Ngāi Tahu Seafood supports approximately 55 independent and experienced fishers and fishing companies, over 40 of which are Ngāi Tahu themselves.