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About the terms and conditions

These terms and conditions form part of your entry to the awards. You'll be asked to agree and abide by all the terms and conditions below. They are also available as a document to download.

Award terms and conditions [PDF, 138 KB]

Find out about the awards and how to enter

Introduction

  1. Please read all the following terms and conditions before entering.

  2. The Seafood Sustainability and Innovation Awards 2025 are organised and run by Fisheries New Zealand, a part of the Ministry for Primary Industries (we, us, our).

  3. If you (the person entering the Awards) do not comply with these terms and conditions, your entry may be disqualified, or your Award may be forfeited.

  4. Fisheries New Zealand reserves the right to cancel the Awards programme or any Award category, or to amend these terms and conditions, without prior notice.

  5. These terms and conditions are governed by and will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of New Zealand, and the Courts of New Zealand will have exclusive jurisdiction.

  6. If you have queries about entering, categories, dates, judging or attending the awards dinner, then please get in touch.

Eligibility

  1. The Awards are open to groups, organisations, industry, individuals, whānau, hapū, iwi, and councils. A sponsor may be nominated or self-enter for the Awards for:
    1. a category for which it is not a category sponsor, or
    2. any category but only if the sponsor is a general support sponsor (namely, the sponsor doesn’t have category naming rights).

  2. Your nomination or self-entry must be true and factually correct to the best of your knowledge. You take full responsibility for the content of your entry or nomination.

  3. To enter or submit a nomination for the Awards you must complete an online entry form available on the website by selecting the Award category you wish to enter.

  4. You may apply to enter more than one category.

  5. Your entry or nomination must relate to a programme/project that was started, carried out, or completed over the past 2 years (that is, since June 2023).

  6. Your entry or nomination must relate to a programme or project that is taking place in New Zealand and its EEZ (Economic Exclusion Zone).

  7. In order to be eligible to enter or win an Award, you (individual or organisation) must not be under investigation by any New Zealand or international statutory body (such as Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand Police, Health and Disability Commission, Inland Revenue, Immigration, WorkSafe NZ, or MPI).

  8. Neither awards' judges nor employees of a department listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Public Service Act 2020 can enter or be nominated in any category.

Entries

  1. Entry submissions open on 24 June 2025 and close 24 July 2025. We reserve the right to extend the submission period if needed to enable sufficient entries. Finalists will be announced on 11 August. The winners will be announced at the ceremony on Thursday 11 September 2025.
  2. There is no cost to submit an entry or nomination for the Awards.

    The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Award

    1. The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Award is by third-party nomination only. There will be no finalists for this Award.

    2. If you are submitting a nomination for this Award, you must have the prior consent of the nominee.

    3. Only the winner will be invited to the awards event. Feedback to the nominator will not be provided except an acknowledgement of receipt.

    Expenses

    1. All finalists will receive 2 complimentary tickets to attend the Awards ceremony. Accommodation in Wellington for up to 2 people per finalist for those residing outside of Wellington will be provided by MPI to attend the Awards ceremony. Accommodation is pre-organised and paid by us in line with MPI’s travel and accommodation policy. Claims must be supported by an invoice. 

    2. Small organisations, individuals, whānau, hapū and iwi groups may apply to be reimbursed for up to $200 (including GST) as part of the travel related costs for up to 2 people per finalist to attend the Awards ceremony in Wellington. The partial reimbursement is at our discretion and the mode of travel must be approved by us.

    3. MPI will consider partial reimbursement of claims above $200 for more than 2 people per finalist in special circumstances. In these cases, MPI will have sole discretion, and the decision will be final.

    General

    1. Where the entry or nomination is submitted by a team, the team must identify one person on the form as its representative. The representative must have authority to act on behalf of the team and will be the contact person for all communication with Fisheries New Zealand.

    2. You agree to provide imagery to support your entry or nomination if requested by Fisheries New Zealand.

    3. You agree to participate at our request in any media, marketing, and promotional activities associated with the Awards and the Awards ceremony, including photography and filming of the Awards ceremony, and you agree that these may be used by Fisheries New Zealand, or the Awards' sponsors, for promotional and media purposes. Any such use will be entirely at the discretion of Fisheries New Zealand. The copyright in all such photos and films or videos will belong to us.

    4. You agree to give Fisheries New Zealand at least one week’s prior notice in writing if you, or a representative from your entry or nomination, are unable to attend the Awards ceremony.

    5. If any awards judge has a conflict of interest regarding an entry, that judge will not judge that entry and may be removed from judging the category in which that entry is entered and scores for that category will be aggregated. Fisheries New Zealand will decide whether there is a conflict of interest, and its decision will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

    6. The judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

    7. Sponsors are not privy to entry submissions (except their own), judges’ decisions, or the final results (until those are published). Therefore, being a sponsor does not, in itself, create a conflict of interest.

    Privacy

    1. Fisheries New Zealand may collect personal information from you (such as your name, home/business address, and email) for the purpose of facilitating your participation in the Awards, and for event management. It may be provided to other event-related organisations or entities (such as other event participants, event sponsors/partners, and event contractors) for the purpose of event management, or Fisheries New Zealand may use it to contact you in the future for purposes relating to the Awards, or to third parties as permitted under the Privacy Act 2020. If you wish to opt out of your information being shared with event sponsors, then you must advise us by email to the address below.

    Verification

    1. We reserve the right to verify the identity of any entrant (including an entrant's identity, age, city/town of residence and place of employment) and to verify the validity of entries and to disqualify any entry or refuse to award an Award where false or misleading details have been given by an entrant, or an entrant has behaved in a fraudulent or dishonest manner, or otherwise than in accordance with these terms and conditions.

    Liability

    1. Subject to any applicable laws which cannot be excluded, we and our employees and agents will not be liable for any loss, damage or injury of any nature incurred or suffered by any person (including but not limited to direct or consequential loss or loss arising from negligence) arising directly or indirectly out of or in connection with the Awards or with winning, redeeming or benefiting from an Award.

    Who to contact

    If you have queries about entering, categories, dates, judging, or attending the awards ceremony, email seafood.awards@mpi.govt.nz

    MPI business units