Seafood

New Zealand is home to some of the best seafood in the world and a new company is championing spearfishing in the commercial space.

Ocean Speared was set up in 2020 by Tim Barnett and prides itself on offering a truly zero bycatch, responsibly caught product, sourced from the beautiful, pristine waters around the top of the South Island.

Barnett has been a commercial diver and keen recreational spearfisherman for all his adult life. After diving in different parts of the world and seeing spearfishing as a commercial method he was interested in exploring this in New Zealand.

Spearfishing is the most selective form of fishing with zero bycatch and Barnett saw that as having huge benefits to the marine environment. Five years ago, after having a discussion with a friend who also was interested in potentially exploring this as a commercial method, they decided to both apply for a special permit to trial the (currently illegal) method in New Zealand.

Since then, Ocean Speared was formed and began selling directly to restaurants and some local customers.

“I was interested in providing the best quality product directly to restaurants, cutting out the middleman and having a good relationship with those we supply,” explained Barnett.

Under a special permit from MPI, Ocean Speared is only allowed to spear butterfish and banded wrasse from a limited area around the outer Marlborough Sounds. They also hand gather kina, sea tulips and octopus.

Contact your nearest representative on 03 343 0587 or ask your local distributor.

Butterfish is the brand’s main fish.

Ocean Speared divers identify each fish before it is speared, this means that they have no bycatch and no undersized fish are targeted.

“They have very little impact on the marine environment as they have no heavy equipment in the water. Just a diver and a speargun.

“We can’t catch large amounts of fish, due to the nature of the method. But what we can do well is look after the resources and ensure the best quality product.”

Once harvested, fish are immediately killed with an iki spike and bled. This ensures the fish is dispatched quickly, and stops reflex actions such as muscle movements, which result in lactic acid and ammonia build up that affects the quality of the fillet. Fish are passed up to the boat, gutted and put into an ice slurry before being soldier-stacked on ice. Going the extra mile, ensures the fish arrive at restaurants in exceptional condition.

“We have been told by our chefs that it is the best quality fish they can get. Most chefs appreciate receiving the whole fish and being able to utilise the many different parts of it. Chefs also like that it has been caught in the most responsible way possible. They love that we tell them each week where the fish was speared, by whom and the conditions that day.”

While Ocean Speared is limited to the species it can currently fish, its special permit from MPI is going through the judicial change process. If the permit is successful, the company hopes to expand to extra species to be able to supply more restaurants.

This small, family-owned and operated business hopes to forge a new path in the fishing industry, where there is space for the other small owner/operated divers/ spearos to flourish, and for the next generation to continue on.

For more information, visit www.oceanspeared.co.nz