Kai te reanga tuawhā te Wā Ohanga Motuhake o Aotearoa (EEZ) i te ao, e kapi ana i te 1.3 miriona maero kaumoana. Tata ki te 15 te rahi o te āpure i te rohe whenua, ahakoa tonu tōna 65 ōrau e hōhonu rawa rānei kua rāhuitia ki te hī.
Ko Aotearoa kai mua i te Ao mō te āta tiaki i ngā tamariki a Tangaroa, mā te Pūnaha Whakahaere Roherohenga (QMS). Mā te QMS te hopunga ika o ia umanga e whakawhāiti, ā, kia whakangāwaritia te mahi a ngā kaihao ika.
Ia tau,ia tauka whakatauhia te Haonga Ika Katoa e Whakaaetia ana (TACC) e te Manatū Ahu Matua mō te wā hao ika e heke mai nei. Ka whakatau te TACC i ngā tātaritanga rawa-ā-tau, i te aroturuki i te hopunga ika. Mā tēnei ka taea e te Manatū te whakarite te rahi o ngā ika ka mau.
Ko TACC te mana whakatau o te Haonga Ika ā Tau (ACE) a tēnā, a tēnā kua whai pūnaha hopunga ika. Mā te tāna ika a ACE e taea ana te hokohoko i waenganui i ngā kai hao ika.
He tāpui te pūnaha hopunga ika i Aotearoa nei. He nui te roherohenga ukauka a Ngāi Tahu ko puta mai i te Whakataunga hao ika o 1989 me te tau 1992. Nā whai anō te kaha tautoko a Ngāi Tahu i te whakahaere ahumoana toitū. He mea nui tēnei kia whakapakari tonu i te umanga me te ū ki ngā uara o te iwi. Ka mahi ngātahi ngā kāhui hī ika ā-iwi me ngā rōpū whakangao ki te Manatū Ahu Matua kia whakahaere tika me te arotake i ia rahinga ika(raraunga-ā-pūtaiao) ki tō Ngāi Tahu titiro me ērā atu o ngā kaihī ika.
