{"id":1362,"date":"2024-02-01T23:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T23:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/?p=1362"},"modified":"2025-04-22T02:11:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T02:11:56","slug":"sealord-buys-fisheries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/2024\/02\/01\/sealord-buys-fisheries\/","title":{"rendered":"Sealord Confirms Purchase of Independent Fisheries"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><p>Deepwater fishing company Sealord is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Independent Fisheries following clearance from the Commerce Commission, consent from the Overseas Investment Office, and a number of conditions having been satisfied.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>This is the largest financial transaction in the seafood sector since the Sealord deal in 1992 as part of the M\u0101ori&nbsp;Fisheries Settlement and will make Sealord New Zealand\u2019s biggest seafood business based on revenue.<\/p>\n\n<p>The purchase of the Christchurch-based Independent Fisheries business includes approximately 46,000 metric tonne of quota, one chartered and two owned deepwater factory fishing vessels, 500 plus vessel crew and staff, and a cold storage facility.<\/p>\n\n<p>Sealord Board Chair Jamie Tuuta said the deal places M\u0101ori&nbsp;at the forefront of fisheries in New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cAlong with the recent acquisition by our 50% shareholder Moana New Zealand of Sanford\u2019s Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) for much of its quota of North Island inshore species, this purchase of Independent Fisheries affirms M\u0101ori&nbsp;as major players in New Zealand\u2019s fishing industry.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cM\u0101ori&nbsp;have a strong affinity with the moana, kaimoana and fishing. The fisheries settlement allocating iwi ownership of quota, including through the purchase of 50% of Sealord, underpins that cultural value system. This transaction grows iwi quota ownership, enhancing our strong connection with the moana in Aotearoa,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ifl-vessel-irvinga-1.jpg\" alt=\"Sealord fishing vessel docked beside industrial buildings, representing the acquisition of Christchurch-based Independent Fisheries, including vessels, quota, crew, and facilities\" class=\"wp-image-1363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ifl-vessel-irvinga-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ifl-vessel-irvinga-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ifl-vessel-irvinga-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ifl-vessel-irvinga-1-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><p>Sealord is an inter-generational fishing company, and the purchase of Independent Fisheries further cements this position for the long-term, he added.<\/p><p>Established in 1961, in Nelson, Sealord is equally owned by M\u0101ori&nbsp;through&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoana.co.nz%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CKelly.Way%40sealord.co.nz%7C03b138d036324bf854ee08dc229f299f%7C5d82e1b1eea247dcb1f102da254c2994%7C0%7C0%7C638423314205130867%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=zpDn7YAdam0rg1slZqOtxDVlxi7As2VY7KCtkt9BNB8%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\">Moana New Zealand<\/a>, and global seafood company&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nissui.co.jp\/english\/index.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nissui.co.jp%2Fenglish%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CKelly.Way%40sealord.co.nz%7C03b138d036324bf854ee08dc229f299f%7C5d82e1b1eea247dcb1f102da254c2994%7C0%7C0%7C638423314205139318%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=87xexXWMfy2mel65YseCe8bn9V34Zs7yYmoee%2B0ooeg%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\">Nissui<\/a>&nbsp;Corporation.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Independent Fisheries was founded by Howard Shadbolt and had its beginnings as a small fish and chip shop in the Christchurch suburb of Linwood in 1956. Since that time and under the management of the late Charles Shadbolt (Howard\u2019s son) and Mark Allison, Independent Fisheries has grown into one of New Zealand&#8217;s major privately-owned fishing businesses, with the fourth largest deepwater quota package in New Zealand. Within the Sealord Group, Independent Fisheries will continue to be operated by its current employees.<\/p><p><\/p><p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deepwater fishing company Sealord is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Independent Fisheries following clearance from the Commerce Commission, consent from the Overseas Investment Office, and a number of conditions having been satisfied.&nbsp; This is the largest financial transaction in the seafood sector since the Sealord deal in 1992 as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1362"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2819,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362\/revisions\/2819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hihotest2.co.nz\/sealord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}