Adam (download photo) was the joint winner of the industry’s Young Achiever Award with Te Tane Trinick of Mt Cook Alpine Salmon announced at a function in Wellington tonight.

Adam is a third generation fisherman based on the Coromandel. He is the owner and skipper of the FV Southern Cross and fishes from North Cape to East Cape, primarily for snapper.

In 2012 he was a joint winner of the Seabird Smart Award for his innovative approach to reducing risks to seabirds from fishing.

“Adam Clow has been instrumental in driving change in education and practice within the fishing industry with respect to mitigation techniques to avoid seabird capture particularly the black petrel in the Hauraki Gulf, “ Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive, Tim Pankhurst said.

His ongoing work in this area was recognised in 2014 when he was awarded the prestigious Holdaway Award by the Hauraki Gulf Forum for making a significant contribution to conservation in the Gulf.

In 2016, Adam volunteered to participate in trialling electronic monitoring with proxy seabirds (page 26) attached to lines to give greater transparency to operations on the water. The trial is a collaboration between Adam, the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for Primary Industries and Trident Systems.

The Young Achiever Award was one of three awards for industry members who have made a significant contribution to the industry announced in Wellington tonight in the inaugural Seafood Stars Awards.

The Awards are part of the industry’s celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the fisheries Quota Management System with awards for excellence and innovation within the industry.

“Every day in fishing communities around the country thousands of people go to work to contribute to our $1.8 billion export industry whether it’s putting to sea in our inshore fisheries, working away from home in our deepwater fisheries, working on salmon and mussel farms, or onshore processing and marketing our products,” Tim Pankhurst said.

“The awards reward innovation and excellence within our industry and recognise the contribution our diverse workforce makes to this important industry and their commitment to its ongoing sustainability.

“There are thousands of stars in our industry. Tonight we are recognising five

of them.”

In addition to the Young Achievers Award the following awards were made:

Longstanding Service Award Winners

•    Doug Saunders-Loder (Motueka)

•    Rob Pooley (Marlborough)

Seafood Innovations - Sustainability Award Winner

•    Dave Kellian (Warkworth)