Ben Pierce

SEAFOOD

We should all be proud of the roles we play in the food and fibre sector, keeping food on plates, clothes on backs, and roofs over heads. To continue this work sustainably into the future, I feel it’s important to enable strong connections and collaboration within our primary industries, which is why I’m proud to be sitting on the Food and Fibre Youth Network council, as a representative for the seafood sector.

Day to day, I’m primarily based in the GreenshellTM mussel capital of the world, Havelock, as part of the mussel farming industry. I’m also involved in the wild catch sector as a kina fisherman in the Cook Strait, Stewart Island and Fiordland. I am a Lincoln University alumni and have completed postgraduate studies in sustainable aquaculture at NMIT.

My personal aim is to raise the profile of the seafood industry as a career path of choice in New Zealand which lead me to establish Young Fish New Zealand in 2022. The aim of Young Fish is to connect young people in Aotearoa New Zealand’s seafood communities.