What do two Wellingtonian builders do when they love spearfishing so much it's all they want to do? Pretty simple really - they find a way to make a living from it. Jen Vallance sat down for a chat with Cole Robinson and Tom Strawbridge from Strait Speared, a commercial spearfishing operation that delivers butterfish "from Cook Strait to Wellington plates."
Their story begins with recreational dives. When they weren't busy building, these long-time mates spent countless hours diving along the Wellington coast. It was on these excursions that they started to notice an abundance of butterfish and see an opportunity to revive the once-productive fishery.
The Wellington butterfish fishery had shut down in 2020 when set netting was banned along the entire west coast of the North Island, including the Wellington coast, as part of new protections for Māui dolphins. Butterfish can't be targeted by other commercial methods due to its vegetarian diet and reef-dwelling habits.
With set net closures in place, butterfish had become an untapped resource, and Cole and Tom saw a chance to f ish it in a sustainable way - and so Strait Speared was born.
They had seen a similar business model in the South Island, where Tim Barnett of Ocean Speared was able to turn his passion for spearfishing into a family-owned and operated venture.
"To do this, Tim had applied for a special permit, and it got us thinking - maybe we can do the same here in Wellington targeting butterfish," says Cole. "So, in 2022 that's exactly what we did. We filed for special permit through Fisheries New Zealand to trial the use of spearfishing as a commercial method."
While they waited to hear about their commercial permit, they got busy.
"We started trialling things," says Tom. "We'd take our little 4.4-metre aluminium boat out to figure out the where the best spots were and the most effective and efficient way to harvest butterfish - what spearguns worked best."
They also had a secret weapon, Coles dad Grant who is also a fisher on the Wellington Coast. "He was a big help getting things off the ground," says Cole. "His years of knowledge of the coast crayfishing and set netting for butterfish gave us a great deal of insight into where and when to target the fish based on the weather and tide."
As well as testing out spots Cole and Tom also started getting the 'Strait Speared' name out there. "We also went and introduced ourselves to chefs at various restaurants - usually still in our building kit after a days work," says Cole. "And we started gathering content so we'd be ready on the social media front before properly launching the business."
It didn't take long for the good news to come through - the permit was granted and Strait Speared quickly became a reality.
Like most businesses, it wasn't an overnight success. The pair had to work hard to build relationships with local restaurants and it took time to finesse product flow.
"In the first year we probably pushed ourselves a bit too hard and we were often crook, seasick or coughing. It took a while to adjust to things, but we've learned a lot since then," says Cole. "There were also periods with no income while we built the foundation of the business, and I went unpaid for a month while completing my skipper's ticket. Tom has his skipper's ticket now too."
The whole premise of Strait Speared is that it's a fish-toorder system. The pair head out once a week, usually on a Wednesday, with a definitive number of fish they need to harvest.
"I guess, on average we deliver 130 kilos of fish, so we're not talking super high numbers," says Cole. "And we've always said to the restaurants, 'You don't have to order 50 kilograms to make an order. We're happy to do one or two fish.' We're going around town once a week anyways, so we don't mind dropping in a fish or two."
Fortunately, this approach appealed to some of Wellington's finest restaurants, including Graze Wine Bar, Park Kitchen, Rosella and Liberty.
"The hard work is really starting to pay off and we're pretty proud of what we've achieved so far," says Cole. "These restaurants don't just appreciate the quality of the product - they love the fact that it is locally caught using a method with virtually no environmental impact.
"We have strong values towards ethical and sustainable catch, and spearfishing is considered the most sustainable way to gather fresh fish from the sea. We have zero bycatch because each fish is individually selected before it is shot. Each fish is spiked and gutted aboard our vessel, then put on ice ensuring the fish are kept in pristine condition."
Cole and Tom have also switched to reusable packaging, further lowering the footprint of their production. Many Wellingtonians would find it hard to believe that the weather rarely stops Cole and Tom from fishing.
"The Wellington coastline is a pretty special place to work. Yes, it can be rough and raw, but we know it well," says Tom. "Where we decide to fish is largely driven by the weather conditions. Luckily the shape of Wellington's coastline means there is (almost) always a spot to safely dive."
And, of course, it's also ideal because of its proximity to the city, giving us quick access to some of New Zealand's top chefs.
One of those chefs is Max Gordy from Graze Wine Bar, a small but mighty restaurant located in Kelburn, Wellington. Graze is all about low waste and sourcing local ingredients, and they have been big supporters of Strait Speared from the start.
"It's a fantastic fish," says Max of the butterfish. "It's one of the only fish that I can get delivered right to my door by the fishermen themselves. I like knowing exactly when it was caught, where it was caught and who caught it.
"I also like knowing there's no bycatch involved with it as well because they're carefully selecting the fish they're shooting. They're not out there shooting all the fish."
Currently, according to their chalkboard menu, Max is serving the butterfish - also known as greenbone (because it has green bones) - in two different ways. One is a butterfish crudo with chilli and celery; the other is roasted butterfish with cauliflower and greens. Both are popular with Graze customers.
"I've tried working out how many butterfish I would have handled - I'm guessing 3 to 4 tonnes. I definitely know my way around butterfish."
With loyal and supportive chefs like Max onboard, things were looking good for Strait Speared until earlier this year when Cole and Tom were surprised to hear that their access to the Wellington coast was threatened.
As of April 11, the regulation that previously prohibited spearfishing as a commercial method was removed, in part due to trials under special permit like Cole and Tom proved. However, the regulation will still apply in certain areas - including the vast majority of the Wellington coast. This would make Strait Speared unworkable and, most importantly from their perspective, unsustainable for the fishery.
"Access to the whole coast is vital for our business, both from a safety and operational point of view but also to avoid localised depletion of fish. We fish across a number of spots to avoid this," says Cole. "When it was consulted on in 2022 there was no mention of spatial closures, so we were pretty shocked to learn we may no longer have access."
"We understand the closures are to give the reccies space to fish," says Tom. "But we have a great relationship with Wellington divers. We're not a massive operation - we're not there to take all the butterfish. We also try and fish where others aren't, we spread ourselves out."
Thankfully, the team at Fisheries New Zealand acted quickly to ensure Strait Speared could keep fishing under their special permit, which has now been extended until October 2026. However, the consultation to change the regulation intended to provide a long-term solution for commercial spearfishing as special permits are generally used for limited periods.
"We're grateful to get a decent extension, but it's a longterm solution we're working on with MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) now," says Cole. "We hope to see a review of the regulations as soon as possible."
While both Cole and Tom continue to build on the side, they are keen to keep growing their business and had plans for a purpose-built spearfishing boat and to help expand the supply of their product. However, the spatial closures have put those aspirations on hold as they would not be able to supply their current market with the areas left open.
Chef Max agrees. "It would be a real shame if we can't f ish this fish. In a way it would be destroying the New Zealand food story that we have. This fish is only available in New Zealand - you can't find it in Australia, you can't find it anywhere else in the world."
