Matt has a Ph.D. in fisheries stock assessment from the University of Portsmouth (UK), and has worked in New Zealand since 2003. Matt has worked primarily on the biology and stock assessment of deep water fishes, from field work and biological studies, through to Bayesian stock assessment modelling. Matt has also worked on inshore fisheries, impacts of climate on fisheries, chondrichthyan biology, and food webs and ecosystem models. Matt is a member of various NZ Ministry for Primary Industries working groups, has conducted scientific research and reviews for agencies in Australia, Europe, South America, and the USA, and is currently a programme leader for the NIWA National Centre for Fisheries Assessing Fishery Resources programme.

Rob Edwards, has a Bachelor of Science with majors in Anatomy & Physiology.

He has been a company director for 20 years in the health and well-being industry where he designed and delivered staff development programs for hundreds organisations.

Prior to that he worked for five years in a cardiac rehabilitation program where he wrote the internationally distributed book "Better Blood Pressure". 

He has diverse experience working with people at all levels of business, cardiac patients, young offenders, elite athletes and remote island communities.

Rob manages the Its Time Foundation that he established in 2007 – that replaces diesel power with solar in remote island schools.  Also, through the foundation in June 2018, Rob launched a Plastic Free Oceans platform engaging individuals and the business community. 

Rob’s focus is simply to encourage people to take a brief time out in their busy lives to consider their most important asset - themselves.  And to get you thinking about sustainable actions that you can do so you have a long and high quality life.  

We can’t look after other people unless we look after ourselves first.  That’s why the session is called “It’s All About You”.

Professor Law (NIWA Wellington/ Department of Chemistry, University of Otago) is a marine biogeochemist studying marine trace gases and productivity, with a particular focus on ocean acidification and climate change. He leads the NIWA Ocean-Climate Interaction Programme and the NZ CARIM (Coastal Acidification) Project, and is co-Director of the NIWA/University Otago Research Centre for Oceanography.  He is a recipient of the Prime Ministers Science Award, and was represented New Zealand in the development of policy on ocean fertilisation at the International Maritime Organisation.

Dr Deanna Clement is a marine mammal ecologist based at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson. She is involved in a variety of research involving the overlap between marine mammals and human activities within our coastal and offshore waters. These projects include assessing the potential effects of aquaculture,  coastal discharges and harbour development to using underwater acoustic buoys and UAVs (drones) to monitor species. Deanna led the recent three-year aerial survey of Hector’s dolphin around the South Island to update its population abundance and distribution. The survey was the most intensive marine aerial survey ever conducted in New Zealand waters, and found this dolphin existing much further offshore than ever realised. Her primary expertise is in spatio-temporal modelling of marine mammal distribution and density patterns, while interested in new and exciting remote sensing technologies to answer hard ecology questions.

Dr Cushla McGoverin is a senior research fellow in the Department of Physics, University of Auckland. Dr McGoverin’s research focuses on using spectroscopy and chemometrics to solve analytical problems in the food industry. This includes using fluorescence spectroscopy to enumerate bacteria in near-real time, using vibrational spectroscopy to better quantify milk quality and dairy products, and using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging to analyse cereals. This work has been completed in collaboration with several industrial partners, including Fonterra Co-operative Ltd, Cadbury NZ, ANZCO. Dr McGoverin has conducted research in New Zealand, South Africa, USA and China.     

Ben is a Cawthron-based marine biophysical scientist with over 15 years research and consulting experience in coastal systems in New Zealand and Europe. His primary area of expertise is the development and application of modelling and remote sensing tools to assist in finding sustainable resource use solutions for coastal marine systems.

Ben is focussed on finding answers to complex problems and presenting them clearly to provide an understanding of system dynamics and uncertainties. He has been involved as an expert in a range of aquaculture and fisheries assessments, including the 2012 New Zealand King Salmon farm Environment Protection Agency plan change application. He has also engineered the wide availability of free daily satellite images and temperature data in New Zealand through the “CawthronEye” website.

Ben had also previously assisted in finding economic solutions to European Union water framework directives to reduce water contamination from welsh coastal water assets. This experience gave him background in microbial water quality assessments that he is currently applying by leading a National Science Challenge Innovation Fund project in collaboration with NIWA and MetOcean Solutions. This project will develop a framework to forecast likely bacterial contamination in Tasman and Golden bays by combining mathematical models and in water data. The aim of this project is to provide value to both the aquaculture industry and community through timely delivery of important bacterial contamination information.

Dr Tim Harwood is a marine toxin chemist based at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson and leads the MBIE funded seafood safety research programme. His specialist areas of expertise include; marine toxin analysis, analytical method development and validation, natural product isolation and structural elucidation.

Dr Joanne Hewitt leads the enteric, food and environmental virology work at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Porirua, where she has worked for over 20 years. Her work is mainly focused on the detection, characterisation and surveillance of enteric viruses including norovirus, rotavirus and hepatitis A virus, using both molecular and cell culture techniques. Her research work centres on the detection, survival and persistence of norovirus, hepatitis A virus, enteroviruses and adenoviruses in food, shellfish and the environment. Other areas of interest include the use of faecal source tracking in shellfish growing areas. Dr. Hewitt has published over 40 peer-reviewed publications and is an IANZ technical expert.

Graham Fletcher leads the Food Safety and Preservation research team within Plant & Food Research. His team works on various aspects of post-harvest seafood processing and preservation plus the microbial safety of seafood and horticultural products. Recently they have begun a project to understand what makes our seafood delicious and how to make sure that our consumers always have a good experience from it. 

Mark Jones is the General Manager at FishServe Innovations New Zealand (FINNZ).  FINNZ are a dedicated IT and data service provider that employ business analysts, software developers, and customer services staff to provide solutions to capture, manage and disseminate fisheries data.

Mark has lead FINNZ engagements in New Zealand, Australia, North America and in the Middle East.  Currently FINNZ is implementing a solution to support the roll-out of the Digital Monitoring regime in New Zealand.  Prior to establishing FINNZ, Mark worked as the Catch Data Manager and Quota Allocations Manager at FishServe and New Zealand's Ministry of Fisheries.

Tom Robinson is a commercial fisherman from South Australia. Frustrated by the amount of paperwork he was required to complete to go fishing, he developed Deckhand with his business partner Simon Dick. Today Deckhand does much more than meet regulatory reporting requirements. It is a tool that empowers fishers to maximise the profits they can extract from their business and the scientific data required to better manage our fisheries into the future. 

David is a fisheries scientist who has been Chief Executive of Trident Systems since it was established in 2012. He is committed to supporting credible fisheries management decisions by providing sound analyses and works to make fisheries information accessible to a range of audiences.

After completing a degree in Ecology at the University of York, David decided to focus on population modelling and quantitative biology. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Roger Nisbet and Bill Gurney at the University of Strathclyde, initially as part of the Department of Physics and subsequently in the newly-formed Department of Statistics & Modelling Science.

Post-docs at the University of Strathclyde and in the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife at the University of Minnesota led to a growing focus on modelling aquatic organisms, culminating in a move to the Falkland Islands to take up the role of stock assessment scientist with the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department. Here David discovered the joys of working with the copious data available from well-managed fisheries.

Attracted to New Zealand in 2004 by it’s reputation for fisheries science, David initially worked as a Fisheries Modeller, then as Chief Scientist, for the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council and it’s successor Seafood New Zealand. The consolidation of a series of ideas for industry investment in innovative fisheries research led to the establishment of Trident Systems.

Chris leads coastal science at Cawthron Institute and has expertise in coastal processes, land-sea interactions, and physical biology. Research carried out by Chris and Cawthron’s coastal science teams has made significant contributions to marine resource management in New Zealand, and includes the development of methods used in best management practices and standards for aquaculture, integrated frameworks for monitoring the state of the marine environment, and advancements in coastal ocean observing technologies. Chris currently leads the spearhead project Precision farming technologies for aquaculture within the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge. He is also a member of the science leadership team for the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge and leads the Managed Seas programme, which focuses on the development of tools for aiding implementation of ecosystem-based management of marine resources.

Darren Guard was born to the NZ fishing industry being from the oldest NZ fishing family the Guards. During his career he worked as a crew, skipper, and vessel manager.  Darren spent 20 years in the family fishing business.

In 2005 Maritime New Zealand and the Seafood Industry Training Organisation (SITO) asked Darren to help them deliver FishSafe, their safety training programme for commercial fishing vessels.  70 workshops were held for 1000 fishers, which led to a significant reduction in ACC reported injuries for the participants.  While at Maritime New Zealand Darren studied and gained an Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) qualification among other studies.

Darren’s involved in safety because he’s seen so many people in the industry he knows injured or killed at sea, and feels “it just doesn’t have to be that way.”  In 2012 he was employed by Sealord Group Limited as the Health and Safety Manager for Harvesting Operations (the fishing fleet).  In this role Darren continued his association with the fishing industry driving safety initiatives; working alongside crew and shore based personnel alike.  The Chair of Sealord formally recognised his contribution as the Sealord fisher injury rate dropped to its lowest ever. 

Darren currently has his own business – Guard Safety Limited.  As Managing Director he leads the company to promote and encourage health and safety not only in the maritime industry but on shore as well, to ensure that “everyone can go home safe at the end of the day”. 

In the last three years the company has grown, and Darren has promoted maritime safety throughout New Zealand and just recently attended the IFISH 5 Conference in Canada speaking about safety in the New Zealand industry to an international audience.

Hon. Stuart Nash was elected Labour MP for Napier in 2014. He was sworn in as Minister of Police, Revenue, Fisheries and for Small Business in October 2017 following the general election.

Mr. Nash first entered politics in 2008 as a list MP and has been the Labour spokesperson for Police, Energy, Revenue, Forestry, Economic Development and Land Information.

In his maiden speech Mr Nash described himself as first and foremost a public servant, employed by the people of New Zealand; and as a social democrat committed to sustainable economic development and growth.

Prior to entering politics Minister Nash worked in senior management in small and large organisations in both the private and public sectors. His wide-ranging career has included roles in IT, sales and marketing, business strategy, resource planning, strategic planning and general management.  

Mr. Nash completed a Bachelor of Arts (History) at Victoria University before moving to Canterbury University where he gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry and a Masters in Forestry Science. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree in Business Management and a Master of Law.

He is the great grandson of the third Labour Prime Minister Sir Walter Nash, and grew up in Napier where his father was a local lawyer and his mother was a school dental nurse.

He attended Napier Boys High School where he was a prefect and captain of the debating team and where his sporting interests included rugby, cricket and representative tennis. He is married to Sarah and has four children. He is currently a member of the Parliamentary cross-party rugby team, and enjoys all sports but these days more from an armchair than a court, pitch or field. 

Grant is an Executive Director within the ANZ Institutional Relationship business and leads a team that manages client relationships and provides specialised markets, transactional and financing solutions for New Zealand’s leading Institutional client base across key industries, including the Agribusiness segment. With 20 years’ experience in the finance and Institutional banking sector, Grant has held several senior roles at ANZ and has extensive experience with debt markets for both public and private companies including origination, complex structuring, advisory, M&A, development finance, and market & credit risk analysis. 

Rob Edwards, has a Bachelor of Science with majors in Anatomy & Physiology.

He has been a company director for 20 years in the health and well-being industry where he designed and delivered staff development programs for hundreds organisations.

Prior to that he worked for five years in a cardiac rehabilitation program where he wrote the internationally distributed book "Better Blood Pressure". 

He has diverse experience working with people at all levels of business, cardiac patients, young offenders, elite athletes and remote island communities.

Rob manages the Its Time Foundation that he established in 2007 – that replaces diesel power with solar in remote island schools.  Also, through the foundation in June 2018, Rob launched a Plastic Free Oceans platform engaging individuals and the business community. 

Rob’s focus is simply to encourage people to take a brief time out in their busy lives to consider their most important asset - themselves.  And to get you thinking about sustainable actions that you can do so you have a long and high quality life.  

We can’t look after other people unless we look after ourselves first.  That’s why the session is called “It’s All About You”.

Iain Hosie is CEO and co-Founder of Revolution Fibres Ltd, a global leader in nanofibre production. He leads the Innovation team, Business Development, Sales and Marketing activities of the business. Iain has a BSc (Biochemistry) from Massey University, and has a working background in environmental health, government policy, product development and sales. Iain is a passionate advocate for nanofibre and its possibilities in many sectors; and is equally passionate about NZ science and innovation being commercialised in both domestic and international markets. Through an exciting collaboration with Plant and Food Research and Sanford, Revolution Fibres has launched skincare products using hoki skins as a valuable resource. 

Craig has extensive experience in governance across a wide range of sectors. He is chair of Seafood New Zealand, chair of Ngai Tahu Seafood, chair of Wellington Zoo, a director on Aotearoa Fisheries (Moana New Zealand), and the Sealord Group, an independent director on New Zealand Maori Tourism, and a trustee of Poutama Trust.

Past roles show a long involvement in the fisheries and seafood sector including being the past chair of the Seafood Standards Council, as well as serving on the board of the Fishing Industry Board, and numerous stakeholder organisations.

He maintains a strong interest in governance, and Maori collaboration.

He was project leader for the Tuhono Whenua: Red Meat Coalition.

He has previously served on the boards of Airways New Zealand, NIWA, the Trade Liberalisation Network, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the Carter and Spencer Group, Foodstuffs Fresh, and also as a commissioner (and deputy chair) with the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission (Te Ohu Kaimoana).

Craig graduated from Otago University with a Masters in Zoology, and is a proud alumni of the Te Hono group (class of 2015).

Anne Haira is the GM of Business and Industry Partnerships at Primary ITO, the industry training organisation for the primary industries. She is responsible for leading Primary ITO’s business development and customer management across seafood, dairy, meat and fibre, horticulture, and primary services industries. She also oversees the Maori business, government partnerships and schools teams.

She joined Primary ITO in 2017 from Fonterra where she held several management roles in shareholder engagement and stakeholder management, including leading the development of Fonterra’s Maori Strategy.

Prior to joining Fonterra, Anne worked as a senior lawyer with commercial law firm Kensington Swan, and held policy roles at the Ministry of Economic Development and Te Puni Kokiri (Ministry of Maori Development). She has also worked overseas for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in New Caledonia as well as the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs in Vancouver, Canada.

‘Nude  Food’  advocate  Nadia  Lim  is  all  about  everyday  simple,  healthy,  delicious  food.  As  a  budding  young  cook,  (who’s  idol  was  Jamie  Oliver),  when  she  was  just  12  years  old  she  came  up  with  the  idea  of  ‘Nude  Food’,  and  it  has  been  her  mantra  ever  since.  She  wasn’t  referring  to  cooking  or  eating  in  the  nude,  in  case  that’s  what  you  were  thinking!  Rather,  Nude  Food  signifies  fresh,  natural,  real  food,  which  is  free  from  being  dressed  up  in  fancy  packages,  marketing  and  additives,  a  message  she  conveys  to  her  audiences  with  her  fresh,  bright  and  tasty  recipes. 

It’s  been  a  big  ride  for  the  Otago  University  qualified  dietitian  and  former  MasterChef  New  Zealand  winner  over  the  last  few  years.    She  has  seven  best-selling  cookbooks,  is  one  of  the  founders  of  My  Food  Bag,  a  genius  recipe  and  meal  kit  delivery  service,  has  her  own  lifestyle  Magazine  'Nadia'  which  was  crowned  2017  Supreme  Magazine  of  the  Year  and  is  the  proud  mum  of  Bodhi!  She  is  also  ambassador  of  the  Cambodia  Charitable  Trust,  a  charity  that  supports  schools  and  teacher  training  colleges  in  rural  Cambodia,  helping  to  re-build  the  education  system  after  the  atrocious  Pol  Pot  regime. 

Martin  Bosley  is  one  of  New  Zealand’s  finest  chefs.   

Living  by  the  philosophy  that  we  should  eat  what’s  in  season,  what’s  local,  and  what’s  fresh,  he  has  been  bestowed  with  every  major  food  award  in  the  country.    With  a  career  spanning  more  than  three  decades,  Martin  has  opened  world-class  restaurants;  contributed  food  columns  to  publications  such  as  The  Listener  and  Cuisine.  For  13  years  he  was  the  food  columnist  for  Air  New  Zealand’s  in-flight  magazine  Kia  Ora.  He  has  released  two  beautiful  cookbooks  to  critical  acclaim,  Martin  Bosley  Cooks  and  Martin  Bosley;  produces  a  range  of  sauces,  dressings,  kitchenware,  and  comestibles  known  as  Bosley’s  Pantry;  appears  regularly  on  television  and  at  food  festivals  around  the  world;  and  has  been  commissioned  by  New  Zealand  Trade  and  Enterprise  as  a  Chef  Ambassador  to  Shanghai,  Hong  Kong,  Japan  and  San  Francisco. 

Known  for  his  love  for  all  things  piscine,  he  manages  Yellow  Brick  Road,  a  sustainable  seafood  business.  Martin  embraces,  and  champions  the  epic  efforts  of  our  winemakers,  farmers,  fishermen,  and  artisans.  As  such,  he  is  a  leading  contributor  to  the  development  of  a  broad,  rich  and  exciting  New  Zealand  cuisine.  A  cuisine  that  reflects  a  country  of  diverse  multicultural  tastes  and  stellar  produce. 

Prof  Moninya  Roughan  is  a  physical  oceanographer  with  expertise  in  the  dynamics  of  coastal  ocean  circulation.  Moninya's  research  focuses  on  improving  dynamical  understanding  of  the  coastal  ocean  and  the  biological  response.  She  uses  a  combination  of  modern  ocean  observations  and  numerical  models.   

Over  the  past  10  years,  Roughan  has  been  instrumental  in  the  design,  deployment  and  ongoing  development  of  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  ocean  observing  systems  in  the  southern  hemisphere  through  her  leadership  role  in  Australia’s  Integrated  Marine  Observing  System.  Since  2007  she  has  led  the  deployment  of  oceanographic  moorings,  autonomous  ocean  gliders  and  HF  coastal  radar  along  the  coast  of  SE  Australia  to  gather  ocean  observations  critical  for understanding  coastal  processes  and  improving  prediction.  Recently  she  has  been researching  marine  heatwaves,  ocean  warming,  predicted  changes  of  ocean  circulation  and  the  impact  on  the  seafood  industry.

Since  arriving  in  New Zealand  in  2017,  Roughan  has  focussed  on  building  linkages  with  the  New Zealand  seafood  sector  to  support  the  collection  of  open  access  ocean  data  and  the  delivery  of  accurate  ocean  weather  information.

Moninya  has  received  a  number  of  international  awards  for  her  research.  Roughan presently  holds  a  joint  appointments  at  the  University  of  New  South  Wales  (Australia)  and  MetOcean  Solutions  NZ  (NZ  MetService  Group).  

Lou  Sanson  was  appointed  as  Director-General  of  the  Department  of  Conservation  in  September  2013,  after  11  years  as  Chief  Executive  of  Antarctica  New  Zealand  -  responsible  for  developing,  managing,  and  executing  New  Zealand’s  activities  in  Antarctica  and  the  Southern  Ocean. 

The  Department  of  Conservation  is  responsible  for  44  marine  reserves,  from  the  Kermadec  islands  down  to  the  Sub Antarctic  islands.  The  establishment  of  a  representative  network  of  Marine  Protected  Areas  is  considered  internationally  to  be  critical  in  supporting  and  contributing  to  the  restoration  and  sustainability  of  our  oceans.   

The  Department  of  Conservation  manages  impacts  on  marine  protected  species,  including  corals,  marine  mammals,  seabirds,  reptiles  and  nine  species  of  fish.  Key  tools  are  Population  Management  Plans,  Threat  Management  Plans  and  the  Conservation  Services  Programme  (CSP).  The  Department  of  Conservation  supports  the  development  of  a  sustainable  fishing  industry,  and  through  CSP  works  to  understand  and  mitigate  adverse  impacts  of  commercial  fisheries  on  protected  species.  It’s  a  fundamental  principle  of  CSP  that  once  a  bycatch  problem  is  successfully  addressed,  levies  will  no  longer  be  charged  for  that  interaction.   

Lou  is  a  keen  outdoor  person,  he  enjoys  natural  history,  hiking,  ski-touring,  diving  and  photography.    

Volker has a distinguished international career in the fishing industry spanning 25 years. He was formerly the President of Nippon Suisan (USA), and President and CEO of King & Price Seafood Corp in Brunswick, Georgia, USA. His former appointments include Global Marketing Director for Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd in Tokyo, Managing Director of Hangana Seafood in Namibia, and he has had senior roles with Unilever Europe in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Volker was educated in South Africa, where he gained a Master of Science from the University of Stellenbosch.

Volker’s experience in creating awareness of seafood sustainability includes development of the Marine Stewardship Council certification of key fisheries and he played a key role in the early accreditation of the New Zealand Hoki fishery.

Grant originally began his career with a science degree and worked in technical and production roles before obtaining an MBA and switching to marketing, sales and ultimately general management.  He has significant experience having worked in most FMCG categories from dairy, wine, breakfast cereals, edible oils, condiments/sauces, coffee/tea, fresh produce and all foodservice segments from cafes to fine dining.  Grant’s international business expertise spans Britain, Europe and Australasia, including such blue chip companies as Unilever, Cerebos and Douwe Egberts/Sara Lee.

Grant was appointed CEO of New Zealand King Salmon in 2009 after a successful career culminating as Managing Director of Douwe Egberts UK and  Chairman of Sara Lee Corporation UK/Ireland, as well as serving as Chairman of the British Coffee Association. Grant’s mission at New Zealand King Salmon was originally to lift its unique product from a premium commodity to a worldwide branded food delicacy.  With the company’s ?ra King brand now on 400 of the world’s top menus the challenge is now to take NZ King Salmon to significant scale and achieve cost competitiveness.

Doug Paulin is the General Manager – Group Operations for Sealord Group Ltd.  Group Operations covers the site in Nelson (two factories) and the fishing fleet operating in NZ, Australia and Indian Ocean waters, in addition to King Reef in Queensland.  Group Operations are responsible for the processing of fish caught in NZ, Australia and Indian Ocean Waters through their own factories and vessels or through contract manufacturing. Doug also has General Manager responsibilities for Group Health and Safety, Group Human Resources and Group Supply Chain.

Prior to joining Sealord Group Ltd Doug worked as CEO of Hubbard Foods Ltd joining the business in June 2011.  Hubbard Foods is a FMCG cereal manufacturer who primarily services grocery retailers in NZ and Australia.  Prior to Hubbards, Doug spent 13 years at Lion Nathan starting in their graduate programme in 1992.  During this time Doug spent seven years in the sales function and four years in marketing.  His roles during this time included Regional Sales Director for Auckland region and Brands Director.  Doug also spent two years as part of the Lion Nathan strategic team where he led Lion’s entry to the Grocery channel in 1999.

Doug’s key interests are strategic planning, key talent development and corporate governance.  Doug speaks on leadership and culture change as part of the Icehouse programme, which is a support programme for SME’s in NZ. 

Doug has a BCom/LLB from the University of Otago, a Masters in Business Administration from Henley Management College in England and has recently completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard.

Doug’s whakapapa links him to Ngati Porou and Ngati Raukawa.

Ian joined KPMG London in 1992 having obtained a BSc in Industrial Economics from the University of Warwick. He joined KPMG Auckland in 1996 and was admitted to partnership in 2004. Ian was appointed as Global Head of Agribusiness for KPMG in 2013.

Ian is the author of the KPMG Agribusiness Agenda, a series of thought leadership reports which have been produced annually since 2010.  He is responsible for the development of KPMG New Zealand’s agribusiness sector focus group.

Ian presents in New Zealand and around the world on the future of food production, processing and consumption. He is considered to be one of the leading strategic thinkers on Agribusiness in New Zealand.  He is also a member of the Te Hono movement and has attended the New Zealand Primary Sector Bootcamp at Stanford University on two occasions.

Ian was a member of the Advisory Group that supported MPI’s development of a 20 year Science Direction for the Primary Sector. He is currently working with a range of industry partners to develop a Primary Sector Experience Centre on the urban farmlet at Mount Albert Grammar School, with a goal of informing 25,000 urban kids a year about the contribution of the primary sector to NZ and the career opportunities it presents.

Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) CEO Jane Lovell is a scientist by training and has worked in the fisheries portfolio in the Australian Federal Parliament, in horticulture export, and for small, medium-sized businesses and large multi-national corporations. 

Jane joined SIA in September 2017 as the inaugural CEO and is working hard to bring a united voice to the Australian seafood industry.  She is dedicated to helping the industry improve and grow, and for Australian seafood to be recognised as some of best in the world.

Previously, Jane was Managing Director of TQA Australia, a not-for-profit at the leading-edge of food safety, quality and environmental assurance in primary industry.  In this role, she worked with seafood businesses from aquaculture to processing.

Jane assisted the Tasmanian oyster industry to develop and implement their own food safety and quality assurance system.

Jane holds qualifications in corporate governance, leadership and recently completed her Masters in International Relations, where she examined the issues associated with the global governance of food security. 

Shelton  Harley  is  the  Manager  Fisheries  Science  in  the  newly  established  Fisheries  New  Zealand.  Shelton’s  role  primarily  focuses  on  delivery  and  quality  assurance  of  the  fisheries  research  used  to  underpin  fisheries  management  system,  but  is  increasingly  focusing  on  communicating  this  science  and  information  more  broadly  to  support  an  improved  understanding  of  the  state  of  New  Zealand’s  fisheries  resources.   

A  scientist  by  training,  Shelton’s  career  has  involved  working  with  fisheries  in  Atlantic  Canada,  Alaska,  and  the  western  and  central  Pacific  Ocean.    Growing  up  within  the  fishing  community  of  Whakatane,  Shelton  has  a  strong  appreciation  of  the  value  of  fisheries  to  tangata  whenua,  commercial,  and  recreational  fishers  and  this  is  something  that  drives  him  in  his  work.  

Hon Shane Jones is a New Zealand First List MP based in Kerikeri, and as a Cabinet Minister in the Labour-New Zealand First Coalition Government holds the portfolios of Forestry, Infrastructure, Regional Economic Development, Associate Finance, and Associate Transport. He is responsible for overseeing both the Government’s ambitious one billion trees planting programme and the Provincial Growth Fund, which will see one billion dollars spent per annum on economic development opportunities in the regions. 

He was previously the Ambassador for Pacific Economic Development, with a particular focus on fisheries, agriculture and tourism, given the significance of these resources to enhancing economic development in the region. 

Mr Jones was also a Member of Parliament from 2005 – 2014, during which he held positions including Minister of Building and Construction, Associate Minister of Immigration, Associate Minister of Trade, Associate Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.  

Mr Jones has a long history of involvement in the fisheries sector and New Zealand’s Maori fisheries settlement. Mr Jones was Chair of Te Ohu Kaimoana (the Maori Fisheries Commission); Chairperson of Sealord Products Limited, and has held a number of senior positions more broadly in the public and private sector.

Shane Jones was born in Awanui, Northland, New Zealand, and is of Te Aupouri and Ngai Takoto descent. He has a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University earned on a Harkness Fellowship.

Rachel Reese was elected Nelson’s first female Mayor on 18 October 2013 and re-elected in 2016. Mayor Reese has served on Nelson City Council for four terms, previously as a Councillor and Deputy Mayor.  She is a National Council member of Local Government New Zealand.

Her extensive resource management, business, local government and community expertise includes over 18 years’ experience in resource consent and plan change processes for both private clients and as a city council decision maker. Rachel has been an accredited Resource Management Commissioner – Chair for more than 10 years.

Rachel is also a Member of Resource Management Law Association and is a qualified Mediator and Arbitrator. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies.

In her spare time Rachel enjoys walking, cycling, fishing, and occasionally reading a good novel.

Craig has extensive experience in governance across a wide range of sectors. He is chair of Seafood New Zealand, chair of Ngai Tahu Seafood, chair of Wellington Zoo, a director on Aotearoa Fisheries (Moana New Zealand), and the Sealord Group, an independent director on New Zealand Maori Tourism, and a trustee of Poutama Trust.

Past roles show a long involvement in the fisheries and seafood sector including being the past chair of the Seafood Standards Council, as well as serving on the board of the Fishing Industry Board, and numerous stakeholder organisations.

He maintains a strong interest in governance, and Maori collaboration.

He was project leader for the Tuhono Whenua: Red Meat Coalition.

He has previously served on the boards of Airways New Zealand, NIWA, the Trade Liberalisation Network, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the Carter and Spencer Group, Foodstuffs Fresh, and also as a commissioner (and deputy chair) with the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission (Te Ohu Kaimoana).

Craig graduated from Otago University with a Masters in Zoology, and is a proud alumni of the Te Hono group (class of 2015).

Tim Pankhurst joined Seafood New Zealand in April 2013 as Chief Executive. He was previously Chief Executive of the Newspaper Publishers' Association.

He was a journalist for 35 years in New Zealand and Australia (The Australian, Melbourne Sun). 

Tim was Editor of four major New Zealand daily newspapers - The Dominion Post, Waikato Times, The Press and The Evening Post. Earlier in his career he was the fishing reporter on the Nelson Mail.

He is author of Roughy on the Rise, the story of New Zealand’s most controversial fishery.

As both leader of New Zealand’s peak seafood body and a keen recreational fisherman and diver,  Tim has a vested interest in the state of our marine environment, working with numerous stakeholders to shape an industry that is sustainable and highly regarded both at home and internationally.