Keeping dolphins safe has become a priority for New Zealand's commercial fishing sector, particularly for fishers operating on the west coast of the North Island in Māui habitat. When set netting and trawling were banned in certain areas in 2020, it was suddenly much harder for fishers to catch rig - a popular fish and chip species. So how to adapt?
Rig were traditionally caught in set nets and trawl. It was received wisdom that they were reluctant to take a hook, so longlining was supposedly not an option. However, some fishers weren't giving up and wanted to try something new. Among them was Rob Ansley, skipper and managing director of Ocean Pearl Fisheries.
"We can get a good boat price for rig, it's a popular fish and there's strong demand. We had the ACE (Annual Catch Entitlement) but with the need to prioritise protecting dolphins, we just couldn't catch it.
"I had this idea that crab would be a way to get the rig to take a hook. But that was problematic. We couldn't get the crab in the numbers we needed plus the flesh was too
soft to stay on the hook. We were back to square one, but then I had the idea of trying cray legs. Rig love cray, and that worked better than crab, but we needed to take
it to the next level."
That's where Keith Mawson of Egmont Seafoods and a whole boatload of supporters came in. Crucially, these supporters included Fiordland Lobster Company, which was looking for ways to reduce waste. Inevitably in any fishery there are natural mortalities. Normally these would go to landfill, but a partnership with rig fishing offered an alternative.
Fiordland Lobster Company Director Mark Peychers says, "For us, it's about making sure every part of the lobster is valued. Rather than seeing natural mortalities go to
waste, we saw an opportunity to support innovation in another fishery while also contributing to a more sustainable seafood industry.
"The collaboration with Rob and his team is a great example of fishers working together to find smart, practical solutions."
Rob's trials with crayfish legs showed rig were willing to take the bait. But an even better method was yet to come - one that used all the waste crayfish.
This next method involved a much larger cast of characters, with the Ministry for Primary Industries coordinating some introductions and then offering
support to trial the new product. Funding was provided by a Bioresource Processing Alliance Fellowship grant and Massey University suggested Jerome Chua, a
masters student with an inventive streak.
Jerome started experimenting with how to get cray mince to stick to a fishing hook. The solution - a sausage.
"Drawing from my expertise in food technology, I developed the sausage bait with a unique binder system that enhances durability and attraction for rig fishing - applying food science to drive innovation in the fishing industry. This approach highlights how science and technology can create sustainable solutions for the future of fishing."
Massey University's Eve Kawana-Brown, the business development manager for Taranaki, said the chance for the university to assist was welcome.
"It's always exciting to work with local industry who are keen to innovate, while at the same time providing an emerging scientist with a real-life context for developing his technical and research skills."
And in this real-life context, the 'sea sausages' were a huge hit with rig. Rob says the results were a very pleasant surprise.
"Initially I was worried that the rig wouldn't be attracted to the bait because it wouldn't appeal to them visually, but as soon as we started and I saw the results I thought, 'Nah, we're away.'"
For Keith Mawson, whose Egmont Seafoods team is processing the rig, the most satisfying aspect is the number of common-sense sustainability boxes the cray sausage ticks.
"The cray bodies, which would previously have been going to landfill, are now being utilised. Plus, bait is becoming expensive, and this product is a better alternative in that sense. There is also the circular benefit to Fiordland Lobster Company because rig predate crayfish, so continuing the rig fishery helps ensure that the cray fishery isn't being adversely impacted by an overabundance of rig."
The group are yet to explore commercial opportunities. For now, testing continues. But they are very open to the idea of sharing access to the sausages - there's enough
for everyone to have a bite.
