AN INTERVIEW WITH:
DOUG PAULIN
In July this year, Professional Skipper's
Keith Ingram spoke with Doug Paulin
the general manager of operations
for Sealord, to find out more about
the company and the man behind its
operations.
General manager
Doug Paulin says
Sealord takes
opportunities to
help ensure that
they positively
impact the youth of
our country
A bit of background…
Doug is responsible for nine fishing vessels in New Zealand
and one in the Indian Ocean; two land-based factories in New
Zealand and a contract factory in Shenzhen, China. Before
taking on his role at Sealord, Doug progressed through a
graduate programme to become regional sales director of Lion
Nathan and subsequently working as CEO of Hubbards Foods.
Doug comes from a Riverton fishing family. His father, Colin,
was skipper of a blue cod and lobster vessel, the Da Vinci, and
his uncle Ron and cousin Ian are also well known within the
fishing community. Doug's whakapapa is Ngati Porou and Ngati
Raukawa. He has moved back to his fishing roots and lives in
Nelson with his wife and three children.
Sealord is a New Zealand-based company, half owned by Te
Ohu Kaimoana (the Maori Fisheries Trust) and half by Nissui in
Japan. More than 1,100 people are employed by Sealord in New
Zealand on fishing vessels, in its factories in Nelson and head
office in Auckland.
Sealord's main catch is the deep-sea fish, hoki. The hoki catch
is governed by New Zealand's quota management system which
currently allows for 130,000 tonnes; the fishery is healthy and
the quota likely to increase.
Tell us about the fishing industry when you were
growing up. What are the changes you have seen?
There is much in the industry that has changed and
much that has remained the same. The passion and
experience that I see among people in the industry
is as strong as ever. From an industry perspective
"sustainability" is a topic that is on the minds of all
of us, particularly fishermen.
When I was growing up Dad would say:
"There is plenty of fish in the sea son." We think
differently now. The need to ensure that there
are fish in the water for fishing tomorrow, next
year and next century is a positive shift in
perspective.
When I joined Sealord, I was positively
impacted by the focus and emphasis on
safety. The first value for Sealord is "safety
first" and it is a value that is lived by all of
our employees. In the past safety wasn't
ignored, but there was a level of acceptance
that fishing was inherently a dangerous
occupation and resulted in accidents. This
is definitely not the case at Sealord and
the emphasis on safety is a significant and
positive shift in focus.
Where do you see the fishing industry
going?
There are a number of consumer trends that are
positive for fishing globally, including increased
demand for protein in developing countries and the
emphasis placed on health by both consumers and
governments. The positive aspect of fish is that it
40
Professional Skipper September/October 2013
www.skipper.co.nz
