Aust aquaculture meeting attended by Maori

Te Ohu Kaimoana’s aquaculture policy analysts Raina Meha and Francine Wineti recently attended the Australasian Aquaculture Conference in Brisbane along with iwi representatives.

The conference is held every two years and this year dealt with innovation in a global market. While science and marketing were the headline acts, practical sessions for growers were also given priority.

Australian indigenous aquaculture enterprises were highlighted and speakers discussed the Australian Indigenous Aquaculture Strategy, which is aimed at providing employment opportunities and financial and economic independence. This is designed to reverse the movement of people away from their communities.

A presentation by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) focused on aquaculture production to provide food security, with some commercial focus on oyster pearl production in French Polynesia. The SPC is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories. “In Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia between 60 and 90 percent of fish is caught by households in both the rural and city areas. The few alternatives such as chicken and beef are expensive and are not abundant,” Raina says.

Raina and Francene say there is an opportunity for Maori to work with SPC as we are one of the 26 members of the pacific communities, and SPC staff members were keen to connect with Te Ohu Kaimoana on indigenous aquaculture development.

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