We received some great news this week (cue a collective sigh of relief). Starting 2 December 2024, seafood operators will no longer need an allocation to bring in fishing crew from overseas. The Government’s decision to scrap the annual cap of 940 Foreign Fishing Crew (FFC) Visas is a win for the sector, alleviating a significant headache for many operators.
Seafood New Zealand, along with a number of you in the industry, has been pushing hard to get this cap removed for some time. It was introduced in October 2022 as part of the Seafood Sector Agreement, which aimed to help land-based processors fill entry-level roles during and after COVID-19. Unfortunately, the FFC visa was rolled into the agreement, a cap was added—and it was too low.
The process since then has been frustrating. Operators have been required to submit expressions of interest each year to request crew numbers, only to have their requests reduced to fit within the 940-person cap. With demand far exceeding the allowed limit, this placed additional strain on a sector already under significant pressure.
Now, with the cap gone, things should get easier. But, when it comes to the FFC visa, we’re not done yet. Over the next year, we’ll continue to work with officials to encourage the Government to undertake a full review of the FFC policy settings and immigration rules. Our aim is to make the process simpler and to reduce costs, to ensure the seafood sector can thrive and continue to contribute to New Zealand’s export goals.
We also remain 100 percent committed to growing and supporting a local workforce. We are currently delivering on our workforce development strategy that focuses on attracting and keeping Kiwis in the industry, providing education and training, gathering better workforce data and investing in automation. It’s a long-term plan, but we’re confident it will pay off.
So, what are some of the things we’re doing to try and attract people to our industry and change young people’s mindsets of what we’re all about?
Like anything, the seafood sector isn’t for everyone. But, as you may have read in last week’s The Update, most who are in our industry love it and are incredibly proud of what they do and the product they deliver. We are also an industry where the “world is your oyster”, so we have produced some videos to showcase just this. One of these features Talley’s Nic Langridge. Hear how he went from driving a truck to managing an entire factory over the course of five years.
This week, we also have Sarah Wright, our Workforce Implementation Lead, down in Dunedin sharing resources and information with around 500 career councillors from around Aotearoa. Sarah reports that the councillors have been really engaged and have taken loads of material away with them to share with the young people in their schools.
Something else we’ve done recently is have our Policy Manager Inshore, Tamar Wells, deliver a lecture on fisheries management to Lincoln University School of Agribusiness students.
In advance, Tamar posed a question for the students to ponder in preparation for an interactive session on lecture day. She asked: “How do we better manage the negative effects of land use on the marine environment while maintaining/increasing the profitability across primary sectors?” A tough one!
Tamar was very impressed with the students’ responses. They were very engaged, had fresh ideas and asked really great “thinking outside of the box” questions. The Lincoln lecture is something Seafood New Zealand is invited to deliver annually, and we’re keen to continue. We’re also keen to share more on this experience with you in a future The Update.
Looking ahead to 2025, we now know things are going to be a little easier on the workforce front with the removal of the FFC cap. However, there is still plenty of work ahead in both improving the FFC policy settings, as well as recruiting and supporting a local workforce. We know many seafood businesses are doing their bit to help, too; it’s a team effort, and we all benefit. We look forward to continuing to push forward in this space together next year.
