Wild capture fisheries accounted for around 82 per cent of New Zealand’s total seafood export earnings in the year ended December 2013, states the Ministry for Primary Industries 2014 Situation and Outlook report.
Wild capture fisheries comprise five species groups: deepwater, pelagic, inshore shellfish, inshore finfish and other seafood products.
The export value of wild capture fisheries is expected to decrease by 5.2 per cent to NZ$1.15 billion for the year ending 30 June 2014, as a result of decrease in catch volume. For the remainder of the forecast period, it is expected to increase by about 1.9 per cent per year to reach NZ$1.24 billion in the year ending June 2018.
Wild fisheries catch volume is expected to grow at a slow pace after a small decrease in the year to December 2013. New Zealand has a mature fisheries management regime with the majority of fish stocks managed at or slightly above their maximum sustainable yield. While this limits the scope for volume growth, there are a small number of fisheries where volume growth is anticipated, including hoki and southern blue whiting.
This is estimated to contribute a 0.2 per cent increase per year in wild fisheries export volume over the outlook period.
Export price is expected to increase by 1.7 per cent per year over the outlook period. It is due to growing demand for New Zealand’s wild capture fish outpacing limited supplies. Global supply of whitefish for 2014 and 2015 is likely to be lower than the 2013 levels as there have been small quota cuts for Barents Sea cod and haddock stocks, and further cuts are expected in 2015. Alaska pollock supplies are expected to decline slightly in 2014.
Developing new and high-priced product forms and markets will be key in lifting export revenue to overcome the potential limitation in growth of wild capture volumes. New developments, such as the Precision Seafood Harvesting PGP, may create an opportunity for value growth.
