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Māori fisheries on trade mission in China Māori fisheries on trade mission in China

maori fishery

By SeafoodSource staff
08 June, 2012 - Representatives from three New Zealand fishing companies have met with employees and agents in Shanghai and Guangzhou as part of a trade mission to China headed by Pita Sharples, Māori affairs minister.

Part of an ongoing trade strategy with China and aligned with NZ Inc., the delegation includes representatives from Aotearoa Fisheries, Ngai Tahu Fisheries and Ngati Kahungunu. The delegation is made up of businesses from a wide range of industries, including forestry, agribusiness, education, food and beverage, investment and banking.

The delegation is meeting with government and commercial leaders in Beijing, Guizhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jiangmen and Hong Kong.

“Māori asset holders represent generations of people and now control 37 percent of New Zealand’s total fish quota. They are continuing to manage assets innovatively and carefully,” said Sharples. “Our fishing businesses are already in China, strengthening existing bonds and forging new ones. A relationship is as strong as the people within it and in recent years we have seen Maori relationships with the people of China blossom.”