Global Fisheries Scholarship

One Māori scholar a year spends six months embedded with Japanese seafood company Nissui Corporation, learning the industry from aquaculture to processing.

AotearoaTaiaoWorkforceMātaurangaMāori-led

Closes: Opens 24 June, closes 24 July, interviews 10 August, scholar announced 24 August, each year
Who can apply: Read on Te Ohu Kaimoana's page, quoted verbatim: "committed, hardworking applicants who are Māori and have studied or who work in fisheries management, aquaculture, marine biology, business management and fisheries or food processing, legal or accounting and are looking at a career in the New Zealand seafood industry." Successful candidates must sit and pass Level 4 of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test before departing — Te Ohu Kaimoana arranges and pays for the language training.
Whakapapa: Must be Māori. Read on the funder's page, quoted verbatim: "The scholarship derives from the Māori Fisheries Settlement (Deed of Settlement 1992), which aims (in part) to build the capability and capacity of Māori within the seafood industry."
Amount: A monthly stipend while in Japan to cover living expenses, plus paid Japanese-language training at home before departure. No cash award beyond that
Funding route: Scholarship
Applicants: Individuals & whānau

Before you apply

Established in 2001 as a joint initiative between Te Ohu Kaimoana (then the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission) and Nissui Corporation of Japan, one of the world's largest seafood companies. Each funds 50% of the cost — Te Ohu Kaimoana's share comes from interest on a dedicated $1m trust fund. Moana New Zealand administered the scholarship between 2018 and 2025; Te Ohu Kaimoana runs it directly again from 2026.

One scholar a year, roughly July to December. The 2026 recipient, Daria Bell (Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Maniapoto), has already been announced — apply for the 2027 round when it opens. Alumni going back to 2002 are listed on the page. Contact: Global Fisheries Scholarship Programme Manager Charlie Mackey, charlie.mackey@teohukaimoana.nz.

Te Ohu Kaimoana also appoints directors to three Māori Fisheries Settlement entities: Te Wai Māori Trust and Tapuwae Roa (formerly Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust), both listed separately, and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited, trading as Moana New Zealand — see the Te Pae Tawhiti Kaimoana Enhancement Scholarship, also listed separately, for Moana's own scholarship.

Official source →

Checked 16 September 2026

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