Why was 300kg of crayfish dumped to rot?
Tuesday, 2 November 2021
The dumping of 300 kilograms of crayfish/kōura is legal – but it has created a stink nonetheless.
Footage of the rotting fish waste appeared on Facebook and TikTok this week, causing an outcry among those who viewed it.
Moana New Zealand responded with a statement explaining the disposal was necessary after the shellfish died in their live holding tanks on the Chatham Islands/Rēkohu.
The cellphone footage was filmed on the island.
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The company insisted the product was not “dumped” but disposed of at an approved fish waste dump, 10 kilometres from the Waitangi township, on private land not accessible to the public.
The statement, from chief executive Steve Tarrant, said the system’s failure at the processing facilities in Waitangi was “extremely unfortunate” and resulted in the crayfish being deemed “unfit for consumption”.
“We only catch to market demand and this event was unavoidable,” he said.
The company’s quota is caught by Port Nicholson Fisheries.
“Port Nicholson Fisheries and Moana New Zealand followed the correct procedures and immediately informed the Ministry for Primary Industries and were advised of the need to dispose of the product,” he said.
Alternative methods to save the product, such as freezing or tailing, “were not an option”, he said, but he did not explain why.
Commenters on the company’s Facebook page questioned the practice and asked if there was not a better process, pointing to a public commitment to kaitiakitanga (guardianship).
The post was originally shared on the popular Aotearoa Kai Gatherers Facebook page on Tuesday, and within a few hours it was shared by more than 120 users.
Other commentators called it “shameful”, “disgusting” and “disgraceful”.
A marine conservationist, who spoke to Stuff on background, said the public would be shocked at wastage in the seafood supply chain, which he estimated can be up to 90 per cent of what goes to the fresh fish counter.
He also questioned why the produce wasn’t repackaged into bait or burley and sold to recreational fishers.
Moana said it was following MPI’s recommendation to dispose of the product.
Howard Reid, MPI’s regional manager of fisheries compliance in the upper South Island, confirmed Moana NZ had notified the agency, which was now conducting inquiries.
“The crayfish were no longer fit for human consumption. While our focus is sustainability, the company informed us the fish were disposed of at a council-approved fish waste dump,” he said.
He said the crayfish were landed and weighed, and will be counted against Moana Pacific's available quota (the share of the fish catch or fishing effort allowed in a fishery).
Reid said the disposal of landed fish was managed by the local council and the company wasn’t required to inform MPI of the arrangements.
“Our role here is around sustainability and food safety. Under the Fisheries Act, the company is required to report that the fish have been caught and landed,” he said.
The video shows mounds of the delicacy discarded on a rocky surface, open to the elements. Reid said the company had now buried the rotting carcasses.
“We have been informed the dump is an approved facility on private land. The company has informed us it has now buried the fish,” he said.
MPI was “conducting ongoing inquiries to find out how it happened so that it can be prevented in future”, he added.
Chatham Islands Council chief executive Owen Pickles said staff were “aware of the issue but not involved”.