Industry Responsibilities
Some examples of these are:
- The Deepwater Group Limited
- The Northern Fisheries Management Stakeholder Company Ltd
- Scampi Fishery Development Company Limited
- Aquaculture New Zealand Limited
- New Zealand Pelagic and Tuna Company Limited
- South East Finfish Management Company Limited
All of these companies, and others, are shareholders in the generic industry body NZ Seafood Industry Council Ltd. This company undertakes generic work for industry such as government liaison, quality standards, training, information services and quota registry services on behalf of the industry.
International Responsibilities
Sanford Limited also has responsibilities to international stakeholders, and nowhere is this more apparent than in our activities in the southern oceans around Antarctica, and in the waters of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
Sanford Limited undertakes exploratory fishing for Antarctic Toothfish in the southern oceans around Antarctica, under a licence granted by the New Zealand Government and consistent with the Conservation Measures approved by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). CCAMLR came into force in 1982, as part of the Antarctic Treaty System. We take our responsibilities for research and seabird mitigation very seriously, as required by CCAMLR. Indeed, we are proud of our record in seabird mitigation - not once in the six years we have been undertaking exploratory fishing under a CCAMLR licence has Sanford caught a single seabird, a record that we fully intend to maintain. Website www.ccamlr.org
Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators
Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing for Toothfish in the waters around Antarctica (while never recorded in the Ross Sea) is recognised by Sanford and other responsible fishing companies as a significant problem. Sanford Limited complies with all reporting requirements of CCAMLR, the New Zealand Government and other international bodies, and is able to provide full documentation for its total catch of toothfish. In addition, Sanford Limited is a founding member of the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators, an organisation established to help authorities reduce the incidence of illegal, unregulated or unreported fishing of Toothfish. Website www.colto.org
Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
New Zealand is a signatory to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean which, after 4 years of negotiations was opened for signature on 5 September 2000 and came into force on 19 June 2004. The objective of the Convention is to ensure, through effective management, the long-term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory species within the Convention Area (see map of Convention Area below).
Convention Area Map Sanford Limited actively participated as part of the New Zealand Government delegation to the Preparatory Conferences for the Establishment of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western & Central Pacific Ocean, which ran from April 2001 until December 2004 when the new Commission was established. The new Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meets annually and Sanford has continued its involvement through its participation in the delegation of the New Zealand Government which is a member of the Commission.
The Company operates its purse seine vessels in the Western & Central Pacific Ocean fishing for tuna species under the authority of high seas fishing permits issued by the New Zealand Government and licences from various Pacific Island Countries, with whom Sanford Limited has negotiated bi-lateral fishing agreements, that are consistent with the Conservation & Management Measures that are established by the WCPFC. Website www.wcpfc.int
