Commercial fishing partnership Precision Seafood Harvesting has been crowned New Zealand’s most innovative organisation at the New Zealand Innovators Awards 2014. Held at Auckland’s Shed 10 on Wednesday October 15, over 600 people attend the awards ceremony and cocktail function.
New Zealand Innovation Council CEO and Awards convener Louise Webster says “the awards bring together incredible innovators, entrepreneurs, designers and investors from all industries across New Zealand to collaborate and celebrate innovative products, and business ventures.” Entries have increased a staggering 60% on last year – which indicates innovation is alive and well in New Zealand.
Supreme New Zealand Innovator – Precision Seafood Harvesting – has developed a new way of harvesting fish using a trawling system that sees fish contained and swimming in a large flexible PVC liner. Holes in the liner allow small fish to escape and once on deck, any non-target fish can be returned to the sea alive and unharmed.
Fishing companies Aotearoa Fisheries, Sanford and Sealord have invested $26 million into the project under a Primary Growth Partnership with the Ministry of Primary Industries. Scientists from Plant & Food Research have undergone nearly 10 years of research into the project and are currently trialing the new harvesting technology on commercial fishing vessels.
New Zealand Innovators Awards evaluators noted how Precision Seafood Harvesting’s entry was “a fantastic example of innovation through collaboration to create something that delivers value through a multi-pronged approach. The result is better quality fish, more environmentally sound fishing practices and a boost to New Zealand’s innovative and sustainability credentials.”
The Supreme Innovator award was presented by Bayer ANZ chairperson and MD Jacqueline Applegate, who says she is delighted to see such a collaborative effort win. “As foundation sponsor of these Awards, Bayer has a deep understanding of innovation and more importantly how to commercialise innovation. All the people behind Precision Seafood Harvesting are deserving winners and I congratulate you all.”
Many other category winners were announced on the night and reflected the depth and talent of New Zealand’s innovators. They included Scott Technology Ltd for its automated lamb boning room; Rocket Lab Ltd with its electron launch vehicle; Enztec’s surgical instruments for conducting knee surgery; and Fonterra for its Noble reduced fat cheddar.
The full list of winners is:
Innovation in Agriculture & Environment
Sponsored by Bayer New Zealand
WINNER: Scott Technology Ltd – Automated Lamb Boning Room
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Gallagher Group Ltd – Ring Top Post
Innovation in Design & Engineering
Sponsored by James and Wells
WINNER: Rocket Lab Ltd – Electron Launch Vehicle
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kaynemaile Ltd – Kaynemaile Seamless Mesh
Innovation in Financial & Professional Services
Sponsored by Ideas Accelerator
WINNER: Kiwibank – Home Hunter
HIGHLY COMMENDED: AIG Insurance New Zealand Ltd – NOVI
Innovation in Health & Science
Sponsored by NZ Innovation Council
WINNER: Enztec – Quad Sparing Knee Replacement Instrument Range
HIGHLY COMMENDED: The University of Auckland – No More Needles
Innovation in Hospitality, Food & Beverage
Sponsored by Yealands Wine Group NZ
WINNER: Fonterra Research and Development Centre – Noble Reduced Fat Cheddar
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd – Functional Whey WPC550 & My Food Bag Ltd
Innovation in Information Communications Technology & Cloud Solutions
Sponsored by Alcatel Lucent
WINNER: I Measure U Ltd
HIGHLY COMMENDED: STQRY NZ Ltd
Innovation in Marketing & Communications
Sponsored by Datamine
WINNER: EFTPlus
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Creative Hype – Promotion Sports Helmets
Innovation in Media, Music & Entertainment
Sponsored by RadioLIVE
WINNER: Kiwa Digital Ltd
HIGHLY COMMENDED: 8i Ltd – 8iVR
Innovation in Sustainability & Cleantech
Sponsored by Waterfront Auckland
WINNER: Precision Seafood Harvesting
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Foodstuffs NZ – Foodstuffs New Waste Management Plan & Scott Biosystems Ltd – Spin Separator System
Emerging New Zealand Innovator
Sponsored by AUT University
WINNER: Solar Bright Ltd – PATeye
Most Inspiring Individual
Sponsored by NZ Innovation Council
WINNER: Peter Beck – Rocket Lab Ltd, Electron Launch Vehicle
Export Innovator of the Year
Sponsored by New Zealand Trade & Enterprise
WINNER: Enztec – Quad Sparing Knee Replacement Instrument Range
Innovation Excellence in Research
Sponsored by 3M
WINNER: The University of Auckland – No More Needles
Excellence in Social Innovation
Sponsored by Tangible Media
WINNER: The Mind Lab by Unitec
Sustained Innovation Excellence
Sponsored by New Zealand Innovators Awards
WINNER: Gallagher Group Ltd
The People’s Choice
Sponsored by Idealog
WINNER: Snap Information Technologies with Electronic Monitoring for Sustainable Fisheries Management.
