Funding awarded for AFL project

Dr Abby Thompson, Food Innovation Manager, has been successful in her application for $180,000 over two years as part of the Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund through the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.

The project will support Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (AFL) in accessing scientific expertise and capability through the FoodHQ network, of which the Institute is a key partner. AFL is undertaking to transform its business by focusing on high-tech, value-added opportunities through the identification of new ventures and developing new products and markets.

Abby will co-ordinate the project on behalf of FoodHQ, with Dr Sue Marshall, Science Group Leader for the Seafood Processing & Marine Products division of Plant & Food Research, playing a key role in the provision of scientific expertise. It is anticipated that a number of other staff with different capability will be drawn from the wider FoodHQ network as the project progresses.

The project is also supported by the Federation of Māori Authorities (FoMA), with Alan Groves providing additional project management input.

AFL Chief Executive, Carl Carrington, says “we have a responsibility to get the most out of the resource that we have and one of the challenges that has been put to the New Zealand fishing industry and ourselves in particular is: what can we do to do more than simply selling the fish in the form that we have today?”

The Riddet Institute forms a key part of the collaborative food research centre that is FoodHQ, by providing expertise in the areas of food science, food processing, and nutrition and health.

AFL is the largest single owner of fishing quota in New Zealand.