| Source Category | Estimated Available Live-Weight or Product | Estimated Edible Protein (tonnes) | Per-Capita Daily Protein (g/person/day, NZ 5M pop.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy cattle (cull cows + beef by-product) | ~2.3M cull animals over 12 months (partial herd) | ~350,000 t | ~192 g | Dairy herd culled rapidly without refrigeration infrastructure; high short-term surplus, then decline |
| Beef cattle | ~2.3M head harvested over 12 months | ~420,000 t | ~230 g | Grass-fed; can be field-harvested; salting/drying feasible for preservation |
| Sheep | ~15M head harvested over 12 months (at 60% herd) | ~225,000 t | ~123 g | Most practical large-animal protein source; carcass weight ~20 kg; field slaughter feasible |
| Pigs (domestic + wild) | ~180,000 t combined | ~90,000 t | ~49 g | Commercial pigs decline rapidly; wild pig population buffers loss |
| Poultry (backyard + surviving commercial) | Reduced to ~15% of current output | ~35,000 t | ~19 g | Eggs critically important; backyard flocks resilient; commercial broiler system collapses |
| Wild deer (all species) | ~80,000–120,000 animals harvested/yr (sustainable) | ~7,000 t | ~4 g | Terrain-limited; high-value supplement; not a primary protein source at scale |
| Wild pigs | ~200,000 animals/yr (sustainable + surge) | ~15,000 t | ~8 g | High harvest potential; lard adds critical fat calories |
| Wild goats + rabbits + wallabies | ~350,000 animals/yr combined | ~8,000 t | ~4 g | Small-game category; important for rural and remote communities |
| Possums (non-poison areas) | ~5,000,000 animals/yr (low estimate, non-poisoned zones) | ~3,500 t | ~2 g | Pelt value may exceed meat value economically |
| Nearshore marine (40% commercial + recreational) | ~120,000 t landed weight | ~45,000 t | ~25 g | Kahawai, gurnard, trevally, squid — high volume species; coastal communities most advantaged |
| Shellfish (mussels, oysters, paua, scallops) | ~60,000 t (aquaculture + intertidal gathering) | ~12,000 t | ~7 g | Very high accessibility for coastal communities; critical micronutrient source (zinc, B12, iron) |
| Freshwater (trout, eel, whitebait, koura) | ~15,000 t total (sustainable) | ~7,000 t | ~4 g | High-quality protein; distributed across river catchments; whitebait protected — harvest cautiously |
| TOTAL ESTIMATED | — | ~1,217,500 t protein (aggregate) | ~667 g/person/day (aggregate) | NB: This is a theoretical aggregate — actual access is highly uneven geographically; urban populations face acute deficits; rural and coastal populations face relative surplus |
Critical caveats:
- The aggregate figure (~667 g protein/person/day) far exceeds daily requirements (~50–60 g/day) but is a theoretical maximum — actual distribution is severely constrained by geography, infrastructure, preservation capacity, and cooking fuel availability.
- Urban populations (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch) have very low wild-harvest access; they depend almost entirely on domestic livestock processed through supply chains.
- The largest short-term protein surplus comes from mass livestock culling in the first 3–6 months; after this the protein base stabilises at a much lower level unless herds are maintained.
- Preservation is the critical bottleneck — salting, smoking, drying, and fermentation are the primary methods available without refrigeration. Each method requires infrastructure inputs (salt, firewood, time, labour) that are not always available.
- Marine protein is among the most resilient categories: it requires no land, no feed inputs, and minimal infrastructure for nearshore harvest.
Footnotes and Sources
- Stats NZ Agricultural Production Census 2023 — livestock headcounts, regional distribution.
- MPI Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) June 2023 — sector summaries.
- Beef + Lamb New Zealand Industry Statistics 2023 — sheep and beef herd data.
- DairyNZ New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2022–23 — dairy cow numbers, regional breakdown.
- DOC Game Animal Council reports and annual harvest data — deer, thar, chamois, wild pig populations.
- Fish & Game New Zealand Annual Reports — trout fishery statistics, freshwater species status.
- NIWA Freshwater biodiversity and water quality assessments — galaxiid and eel population status.
- MPI Fisheries New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Plenary — commercial catch data, stock status by QMS species.
- Seafood New Zealand Industry Statistics — aquaculture production (mussels, oysters, salmon).
- DOC Possum Control Area Network data — possum density estimates; Warburton et al. (2009) density review.
- Landcare Research Rabbit population surveys — Central Otago and Mackenzie Basin population estimates.
- NIWA National River Water Quality Network — koura distribution and habitat quality.
- Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand — cultural context for eels (tuna), whitebait, and freshwater species.