Te Ohu Kaimoana

What Te Ohu Kaimoana does

Te Ohu Kaimoana is a non-profit statutory trustee organisation established under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004 to administer the 1992 Māori Fisheries Settlement on behalf of 58 mandated iwi organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand. The organisation provides knowledge, expertise, and resources to support iwi in fisheries governance, customary fishing management, aquaculture, and marine environment matters, and serves as the bridge between the Crown and Māori in discharging obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It coordinates a four-entity kāhui comprising Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited, Te Wai Māori, Tapuwae Roa / Te Pūtea Whakatupu, and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (which trades as Moana New Zealand).

Its core products are governance and information services rather than commercial technology offerings. The principal digital tool is IkaNet, an online customary fishing management system that enables authorised tangata tiaki/kaitiaki to generate digital customary authorisations supporting iwi, hapū and whānau access to kaimoana. Complementary offerings include the Iwi Decision Register (information on constitutional documents, coastline entitlements, and settlement asset receipts for mandated iwi organisations), a 28N Rights Proceedings Information Hub, and a publications/consultation-responses portal serving as a knowledge repository for the iwi fisheries sector.

Te Ohu Kaimoana does not operate a commercial revenue model; services are provided to iwi free of charge as part of its statutory functions. The organisation holds settlement quota (approximately 10% of existing New Zealand fishing quota plus 20% of new species entering the Quota Management System) on behalf of iwi and is currently engaged in active litigation against the Crown regarding the 28N rights issue, having secured a landmark High Court ruling in March 2025 that the Crown has been in breach of the fisheries settlement for approximately 20 years. The Māori Fisheries Amendment Act 2024, which materially reforms governance and director appointment frameworks, came into effect on 26 July 2026.

Name

Te Ohu Kaimoana

Legal name

Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited

Website

https://teohukaimoana.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Te Ohu Kaimoana is a Māori fisheries trustee organisation established under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004, providing governance, advocacy, and information services to 58 mandated iwi organisations across New Zealand to protect and advance their fisheries settlement rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indigenous Fisheries Governance Services

NAICS

American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Governments (921150), Fishing, Hunting and Trapping (114)

SIC

Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines) (BPAIAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

Keywords

• Fisheries governance
• Indigenous trustee services
• Treaty settlement assets
• Customary fishing management
• Iwi advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Te Ohu Kaimoana (legally Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited) is a non-profit trustee organisation established under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004 to support 58 mandated iwi organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand in protecting and enhancing their fisheries settlement rights. It provides knowledge, expertise, and resources on ocean-related matters, advocates for iwi in fisheries governance, and operates the IkaNet online customary fishing management tool that enables authorised tangata tiaki/kaitiaki to issue digital customary authorisations for kaimoana (seafood) access. The organisation coordinates work between kāhui entities (Te Ohu Kaimoana, Te Wai Māori, Tapuwae Roa, Aotearoa Fisheries Limited) and manages the Iwi Decision Register to provide mandated iwi organisations with information on constitutional documents, coastline entitlements, and settlement assets.

Product overview

Te Ohu Kaimoana is a Māori fisheries trust organisation that provides a suite of services to support iwi in protecting and managing their fisheries rights. The core offerings include IkaNet (an online customary fishing management tool for generating digital customary authorisations), the Iwi Decision Register (information resource for mandated iwi organisations), the 28N Rights Proceedings Information Hub (legal proceedings documentation), publications and reports (annual reports, quarterly reports, strategic plans), and responses to government consultations on fisheries and marine policy. The organisation does not offer a commercial technology product but rather provides governance, advocacy, and information services to advance Māori fisheries interests under the 1992 Fisheries Settlement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Takutai Trust: Trust entity included within Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited operations
• IkaNet

Products and services

• IkaNet

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crown (Attorney General and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2023Te Ohu Kaimoana filed declaratory judgement proceedings against the Crown in October 2023 regarding the 28N rights issue. The proceedings address Crown's failure under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to address historical confiscation of settlement quota. The Crown has appealed the High Court's March 2025 decision in Te Ohu Kaimoana's favour to the Court of Appeal.
• KPMG (Dr Mark Hickford and Anaru Mill)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIndependent auditors engaged to conduct the four-year performance audit of Te Ohu Kai Moana Group entities as required under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004. The audit covers the period 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2024. KPMG partner Justin Ensor can be contacted for commercially sensitive sections of the audit report.
• Legal counsel (Victoria Casey KC, Andrew Irwin, Aroha Beck)coreOthersExternal legal counsel engaged by Te Ohu Kaimoana for the 28N rights litigation against the Crown. Victoria Casey KC led the case that resulted in the March 2025 High Court victory finding the Crown breached the fisheries settlement for over 20 years.
• Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited, Te Wai Māori, Tapuwae Roa, Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (Moana New Zealand)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe kāhui (group) of fisheries settlement entities that Te Ohu Kaimoana coordinates with. These include Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited (the parent trustee entity), Te Wai Māori (trust), Tapuwae Roa / Te Pūtea Whakatupu (trust), and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (trading as Moana New Zealand, the commercial fishing entity). All are subject to four-year performance audits.
• Sealord Group LimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn independent commercial performance review comparing Sealord Group Limited and Moana New Zealand against other participants in the fishing industry was commissioned as part of the four-year audit. Sealord is a commercial fishing company in which Māori has an ownership interest through the settlement.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu: The largest iwi in Aotearoa New Zealand with significant fisheries settlement quota and a large commercial holdings arm. Highly comparable as another Treaty settlement-based iwi organisation stewarding fisheries and marine assets on behalf of its members under similar statutory frameworks.
• Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation: The commercial arm of Ngāi Tahu managing fisheries, seafood, and marine investments. Directly comparable as an iwi-owned commercial entity that monetises fisheries settlement assets similar to Aotearoa Fisheries Limited / Moana New Zealand within the Te Ohu Kaimoana kāhui.
• Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (Moana New Zealand): Wholly-owned subsidiary of Te Ohu Kaimoana trading as Moana New Zealand, operating commercial fishing and seafood businesses. Directly comparable as the commercial fishing operating arm that monetises the settlement quota held in trust.
• Te Wai Māori: Wholly-owned trust entity within the Te Ohu Kaimoana kāhui representing Māori freshwater and fisheries interests. Directly comparable as a sister entity under the same Māori Fisheries Act framework, addressing related but distinct fisheries and waterway management functions.

Others

• Fisheries Inshore New Zealand: Industry association representing NZ inshore commercial fishing operators. Comparable as an industry-level advocacy body that engages with Te Ohu Kaimoana on policy and quota matters affecting the inshore fisheries in which iwi hold settlement quota.
• Ministry for Primary Industries (NZ): New Zealand government regulator responsible for fisheries policy, quota management, and Crown obligations under the Treaty settlement. Comparable as the principal Crown counterparty in fisheries governance and the regulator administering the Quota Management System that allocates 20% of new species to Māori settlement.

Broad incumbents

• Sanford Limited: Largest New Zealand-listed commercial fishing and seafood company. Comparable as an established incumbent in the NZ commercial fishing industry whose performance, quota holdings, and sector dynamics directly affect the value of Te Ohu Kaimoana's settlement assets.
• Talley's Group: Privately-held New Zealand fishing, seafood processing, and dairy company. Comparable as another major NZ incumbent commercial fisheries operator whose sector dynamics influence quota values and competitive positioning for iwi settlement assets.
• Sealord Group Limited: One of New Zealand's largest commercial fishing companies with partial iwi ownership through the Māori Fisheries Settlement. Comparable as a major NZ commercial fisheries operator whose performance is reviewed alongside Moana New Zealand in independent audits commissioned by Te Ohu Kaimoana.

Emerging players

• Te Kopu Whakaoho - Māori Fisheries Trust: A Māori fisheries trust entity representing iwi in the Top of the South Island. Comparable as a smaller, regionally-focused Māori fisheries organisation operating within the broader Māori Fisheries Act framework and interacting with Te Ohu Kaimoana's national mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/teohukaimoana
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/te-ohu-kaimoana
• Instagraminstagram.com/teohukaimoana.nz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Te Ohu Kaimoana