A director of the largest Maori-owned fishing company says Maori have the ability to be trained to work in deepsea fishing - but finding the right people is challenging.
Half the fleet catching New Zealand's quota are foreign charter vessels and an investigation is currently underway into allegations of crew mistreatment on foreign-owned ships.
Aotearoa Fisheries director Fred Cookson says it's a case of finding young Maori who are willing to do tougher work, because crew are at sea for up to two months at a time.
He says, traditionally, Maori are involved in inshore fisheries.
