Author Archives: Benn

Stuff. On a Friday morning, Centre Park in Auckland’s Māngere is absolutely chocka with cars waiting for one thing… fish. It’s part of an an initiative called The Kai Ika Project, a collaboration between Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae, LegaSea, non-commercial and commercial fisheries, which has seen demand skyrocket. The Kai Ika project collects the parts ofContinue reading “Demand for Kai Ika project soars, Woolworths gets on board”

The Spinoff, September 23, 2024 The least popular eating fish tend to also be the most sustainable. But the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive if you know what to do with them. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about fish. Fresh fish, tinned fish, raw fish, fish stock, fish curry, fish frames, fishContinue reading “The benefits of eating unpopular fish”

Three now Naomi Toilalo is on a food rescue mission. Join her as she challenges legendary Chef Peter Gordon to cook a 3 course meal out of rescued food at Papatuanuku Kokiri marae. Watch now.

Published in The Spinoff. Auckland may be the largest city in Aotearoa, but it’s the small community-led organisations within it that make the city thrive. The Spinoff spoke to two council-funded organisations who are doing their bit. A similar nexus of community interests first breathed life into The Kai Ika Project, a collaboration between theContinue reading “Cleaning streams and feeding crowds: the community groups strengthening Auckland”

NZ Herald. LegaSea’s Kai Ika Project, in partnership with Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae, Westhaven Marina and Outboard Boating Club, is introducing a new fundraising initiative – Cans for Kai. The project, which has been steadily growing since 2016, is driven by the philosophy “waste not, want not”. They collect unwanted fish heads and frames and shareContinue reading “Cans for Kai: Waste from consumerism now a community treasure”

The Feed. With Aotearoa’s fish stocks under pressure from over-fishing, the way we consume fish becomes a vitally important issue. Many New Zealanders, particularly Pākehā, eat only the fillets of the fish and tend to discard those delicious and nutritious parts that the late chef Anthony Bourdain approvingly labelled the nasty bits. These wasteful habits meanContinue reading “Fish tales: Kai Ika bringing fish heads to those that need (and want) them most”

New Zealand Fishing News. Contemporary buzzwords like ‘sustainability‘, environmental responsibility’, and ‘transformation’ are bandied about a lot these days, but it’s rare to come across an organisation that genuinely walks the talk in this space. Enter Phoenix Metalman Recycling, a 100% Kiwi-owned, nationwide recycling business focused on the circular economy. What is the circular economy,Continue reading “Phoenix Metalman Recycling – LegaSea Lifeblood”

Fish heads, says Peter Gordon, are known as “the food of the chiefs” in Māori food lore. “New Zealanders on the whole would think of a fish head as cheap food, but for many cultures it’s the best part of the fish.” I’m in a one-on-one cooking class with the acclaimed chef, who’s talking meContinue reading “‘Food of chiefs’: There’s more to eating fish heads”

While it’s not a new project, the team at Kai Ika Project Wellington are seeing a huge increase in demand from when they started 12 months ago. Volunteer Chris Jupp reflects back on when he started with the company: “Our first drop we picked up two small poly bins [about 36 kgs]. “We brought itContinue reading “Tackling cost of living issues, one fish carcass at a time”

A project to feed those in need with leftover fish is hoping to raise $18,700 to get a new van and make sure more kaimoana does not go to waste. Every week, Chris Jupp from Kai Ika picks up fish heads and frames from two fish distributors in Wellington in his own station wagon. HeContinue reading “Kai Ika Wellington hopes to raise $18k for new van”