It is not every fishing tournament that opens with a Minister of the Crown, features a symposium on international peace and security, and concludes with 90 anglers from around the world learning about traditional Māori culture at a South Auckland marae. But the 2024 World Sport Fishing Tournament was never merely a fishing competition.
Co-organised by UPF New Zealand and the World Sport Fishing Federation (WSFF) New Zealand, the tournament ran from 8 to 12 March 2024, bringing 71 teams from 15 nations to the Waitemata Harbour — with competitors travelling from as far away as Uruguay, Kazakhstan, and Estonia to take part in what has become one of the most distinctive peace-oriented sporting events in the Pacific.
Opening Ceremony
The tournament opened on the evening of Friday 8 March with a ceremony at the Parnell Hotel and Conference Centre in Auckland. More than 200 people attended — a gathering that reflected the breadth of community and international connections that UPF New Zealand has built over many years.
H.E. Keutekarakia Mataroa, Consul General of the Cook Islands, opened the ceremony formally, before Hon. Shane Jones, New Zealand’s Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, delivered keynote remarks welcoming the international competitors to Aotearoa. Minister Jones spoke to the significance of ocean stewardship as a peace-building endeavour — noting that how nations manage shared natural resources is one of the defining questions of our time in the Pacific region, where climate change, overfishing, and geopolitical competition increasingly intersect.
Competition on the Waitemata
The tournament itself was conducted with unique rules overseen by local and international judges and referees — a format designed to be as much about skill, patience, and respect for the ocean as about competitive sport. Five local tour boats were contracted to take the 71 teams out onto the Waitemata Harbour across multiple rounds, in what amounted to a floating international gathering of people united by a love of fishing and the sea.
The tournament yielded approximately 1,000 kilograms of fish — a catch that, in the spirit of community service central to UPF’s mission, became something more than a sporting trophy. 900 kilograms of the catch was donated to a marae in South Auckland, to be distributed to families in need through KAI IKA, a local NGO focused on food redistribution. In a single gesture, a fishing competition became an act of community care.
Symposium: Ocean Resources Management and Peace and Security
On Saturday 9 March, a dedicated symposium on Ocean Resources Management and Peace and Security was held at the Parnell Hotel and Conference Centre, running from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm. This was the event within the event — the moment where the World Sport Fishing Tournament revealed its deeper purpose.
Opening remarks were provided by H.E. Keutekarakia Mataroa, who brought the perspective of a small Pacific Island nation acutely aware of what the health of the ocean means for the survival of its people. Presenters came from Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Marshall Islands — nations with very different relationships to the Pacific Ocean, but a shared stake in its future. Local voices from LegaSea and Sea Cleaners brought the New Zealand dimension: the health of our coastal waters, the sustainability of our fisheries, and the responsibility of communities to care for what they depend on.
UPF’s objectives for the symposium were clear: to address the management of fish resources; to explore the protection of fishing waters from the perspective of peace and security; and to work toward interdependence and mutual prosperity in the region based on common values. These are not merely environmental goals — they are expressions of UPF’s conviction that the way we treat the natural world reflects the way we treat one another.
Cultural Exchange at the Marae
On Monday 11 March, 90 tournament participants and staff were welcomed to the South Auckland marae that had received the tournament’s fish donation — for a day of cultural exchange that many would later describe as the highlight of their entire visit to New Zealand.
For many of the international visitors, it was their first encounter with the living culture of Aotearoa’s tangata whenua. They were introduced to traditional Māori protocols, values, and ways of knowing — a reminder that the Pacific Ocean is not only a resource or a strategic asset, but a spiritual and cultural inheritance, tended for generations by the peoples who live alongside it.
A Tournament with a History
The World Sport Fishing Tournament was founded by Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon in 2002, with a vision of using sport as a vehicle for international friendship and environmental stewardship. Previous tournaments have been held in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and Spain. Auckland’s hosting of the 2024 edition reflects UPF New Zealand’s growing capacity as an organisation, and the city’s standing as a hub for international peace-oriented gatherings in the Pacific.
More than just a fishing tournament, these events have always aimed to build friendships that break down barriers between cultures and peoples through a shared love of the ocean. In Auckland in March 2024, 71 teams from 15 nations found exactly that.
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