The Port Chalmers Fishermen’s Co-operative and Harbour Fish will work together to supply about 200kg of fish each month to Dunedin foodbanks, which face added pressure due to the impacts of Covid-19.
Harbour Fish collected the fishermen’s first catch of sea perch in Careys Bay on Friday and took it to its Sawyers Bay factory where staff processed and packaged the fish into 500g and 1kg bags.
It will be stored at the factory and distributed to the Salvation Army on an as-needed basis, where it will be shared between four local foodbanks, along with recipe cards that show families simple and healthy ways to cook the fish.
Port Chalmers Fishermen's Co-operative president Ant Smith said he had thought about the initiative for some time. Support from fishing companies and quota owners had made it happen.
"We envision this will be ongoing.
"Poverty in New Zealand is out there and it is real."
The group had 48 local fishermen who would continue to donate some of their catch to the cause, Mr Smith said.
He hoped the initiative would be picked up by other fishing associations throughout the country.
Harbour Fish manager Aaron Cooper said Mr Smith approached the company about participating. It believed it was a good time to band together to help the community.
"We have the licensed facility and all of the food safety programmes ... and also make sure the fish is recorded in the quota management system.
"Our staff are happy to join up and donate our time to a good cause."
Holding the fish at the premises until it was needed would help ease storage issues with the frozen product for the foodbanks.
