A fish and chip staple and a favourite on Kiwi tables, hoki is synonymous with great New Zealand kaimoana.
Most people know hoki as an easy, reliable dinner option. What many don’t realise is that it is also part of one of New Zealand’s longest-running sustainability success stories – and this year that story reaches a major milestone.
It’s been 25 years since New Zealand hoki became the first whitefish fishery in the world to achieve certification to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard.
Now, a quarter of a century later, it has been recertified for the fifth time.
That kind of longevity doesn’t happen by accident. It comes down to decades of people working together – fishers on the water, scientists tracking the stock, government setting limits, and iwi and other ocean users and guardians helping shape how the fishery operates. Different roles, different perspectives, but a shared commitment to getting it right.
Because sustainability isn’t something you tick off once and move on from. It’s something you keep working at.
The hoki fishery hasn’t always had an easy run. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the western stock came under pressure as fewer young fish survived to adulthood. It was a moment that tested both the system and the people behind it.
Catch limits were cut significantly. Management settings were tightened. And the industry adjusted.
Those decisions weren’t easy, but they worked. Over time, the stock rebuilt, and today the fishery is in a healthy state.
It’s a story that still gets talked about because it shows something important – when the science points to change, the system responds.
The fishery operates under New Zealand’s Quota Management System, with hoki managed as two interconnected stocks – eastern and western. Scientific surveys, modelling and fishing data all contribute to understanding how those stocks are tracking and how catch limits should be set.
But science doesn’t exist in isolation.
Fishers are often the first to notice when something changes. In 2018, crews began seeing fewer hoki in parts of the fishery, even before it showed up clearly in official assessments. The industry responded by pushing for reductions, resulting in a voluntary cut of 35,000 tonnes over two years.
It’s a good example of how experience on the water and scientific insight work side by side – and how the fishery has built a culture of responding early, when it really counts.
Of course, sustainability isn’t only about how many fish are in the water.
Over the past 25 years, the hoki fishery has also strengthened how it manages its wider environmental footprint. Midwater trawl methods mean much less contact with the seabed, and monitoring shows limited interaction with non-target and protected species.
The way the fishery is monitored has also come a long way. High levels of observer coverage, electronic reporting and digital tracking systems now provide a detailed, near real-time picture of fishing activity.
That kind of transparency matters. It builds trust – not just with regulators, but with markets and the public as well.
And hoki is a big deal in New Zealand’s seafood sector. It’s one of the country’s most valuable seafood exports, generating around $230 million annually and supporting
hundreds of jobs across harvesting, processing and science.
Chief Executive of Seafood New Zealand, Lisa Futschek, says this milestone is really about the people who made it happen.
“It’s about the people behind the fishery. It is the skippers and crews out on the water, and the scientific community guiding their efforts.
“It reflects years of hard work and care. Achieving this milestone has not been easy – it has been earned, and it helps keep confidence strong in our hoki and its place on dinner plates in New Zealand and around the world.”
That long-term commitment is part of what defines the hoki story.
The demand for seafood continues to grow so in that context, hoki offers something valuable – a long-term example of what can be achieved when science, industry and regulation stay aligned.
But there’s no sense of 'job done.'
If anything, the past 25 years have set the expectation for what comes next – continued improvement, continued science and continued collaboration.
Another world first
After two years of engagement with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Association of Sustainable Fisheries, a pathway was secured enabling hoki, hake, ling and southern blue whiting to begin reassessment under version 3.0 of the standard – an achievement reached by only a handful of fisheries worldwide.
That work has since delivered another global first, with all four fisheries becoming the first in the world to be certified under MSC’s updated version 3.1 standard.
The reassessment tested management systems, environmental protections and stock sustainability. Only three conditions were applied across all fisheries – a strong result that reflects the strength of New Zealand’s fisheries management system. In MSC terms, conditions are targeted improvements required over time to maintain certification.
“Achieving MSC certification for our hoki, hake, ling and southern blue whiting fisheries is an independent verification of the strength and integrity of our fisheries management system here in New Zealand,” says Aaron Irving, General Manager Deepwater, Seafood New Zealand.
“This certification reflects years of planning, preparation and detailed evidence gathering under a very challenging standard. I’m incredibly proud of our fishers, whose work
at sea underpins this achievement.”
Today, around 60% of the catch from New Zealand’s deepwater fisheries is certified sustainable to the MSC standard.
