The New Zealand Fishing Industry Key facts and background
information on the fishing industry in New Zealand. New
Zealand’s commercial fishing sector has built up over the last
30 years. In the 1970s our fishing industry was largely an
inshore affair. Offshore waters, beyond our 12 nautical mile
Territorial Sea, were fished by Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, and
Soviet vessels. With the introduction of the 200 nautical mile
exclusive economic zone in 1977 and the introduction of the
quota management system in 1986, many New Zealand companies went
on to invest in fishing vessels to fish the available catch and
onshore factories to process the catch. The industry has also
grown from being a predominantly domestic supplier to one of the
nation’s leading export industries. In excess of 90 percent of
all fish landed is exported. The Quota Management System - Today
eight fishing companies provide 80 percent of production but
there remain a large number of medium and smaller, usually
inshore, fishing operations. - Some