Casting a kaimoana market

Anchoring the Top of the South aquaculture sector is the target for three novice skippers of a kaimoana (seafood) market.

Husband and wife Timo and Olivia Neubauer along with Lisa Dunker are the steering group behind Nelson Fish Market at Port Nelson this summer to celebrate local aquaculture as the city’s holy grail.

Timo, who operates an agritourism business with his wife, says the idea was broached following last year’s What if Whakatū Nelson? discussion space and the City Revitalisation Summit in March.

“We were thinking about what makes Nelson different from any other place in the country, and one of the points that is out there is one of our biggest industries is the fishing industry,” he says.

“You can’t quite sense that when you’re in Nelson so why don’t we bring it out into the open and actually have a fish market? Celebrate the fishing industry and bring the fishermen and the people of Nelson together so they can interact directly.

“It’s a real opportunity for the fishing industry here to showcase what it’s up to… it’s not often that people really get to see it or really understand what people do [at the port]. There’s so much great stuff going on,” Olivia adds.

“It’s also a matter of bringing some competition to the market… as opposed to a fish shop, a market has got different entities competing for selling their fish.”

Timo says the market could also be a catch for beleaguered fishers.

“Once we started diving into the topic… we realised that our independent fishermen are really doing it tough, and this market would be a real opportunity for them to get a leg up and have direct retail sales, which would make a huge difference to their bottom line,” he says.

“We’ve also had a lot of discussions with Port Nelson, Nelson City Council and [The Ministry for Primary Industries], and I have to say they’ve all been incredibly supportive of the idea.”

Timo says details for the maiden market this summer were being finalised and Top of the South seafood vendors can get involved by taking a stall, whether it’s fish, mussels, oysters or other seafood.

“We’re looking at once a week… it really depends on what works best for the fishermen and the initial trial will just be for six months, and if that proves to be successful, then hopefully we’ll be growing from there,” he says.

“The market is funded mainly through stallholder fees and we’re hoping that we could access other funds.

“We’ve got a vision where the fish market grows into a real destination for Nelson and have it in a permanent market building on the waterfront with co-located hospitality, restaurants, takeaways, and maybe even a wine bar.” Contact [email protected] if you’re interested in having a stall at the Nelson Fish Market.