Tag Archives: New Zealand
Electronic Monitoring – New fishing regulations bring opposition in Southland
Some southern fishermen say new government regulations for commercial fishing boats could be put small operators out of business. From October 6, new measures will be rolled in to ensure that all commercial fishing boats are fitted with both GPS equipment and cameras, to improve monitoring of catch levels and to help prevent any illegal activity. Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said the changes would protect the sustainability of New Zealand’s fisheries, and “give us arguably the most transparent and accountable commercial fishery anywhere in the world”. However, some southern fishermen fear the new rules could also bring about a range of negative consequences. As well as the costs incurred from buying and maintaining the new equipment, it could also inadvertently reveal many fishermen’s jealously guarded marks (fishing spots). click here to read the story 15:59
New Zealand – New digital fishing rules could cost thousands
All commercial fishing operators will have to invest thousands to install cameras and tracking devices on their boats, under new rules announced by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The push towards electronic monitoring of the industry follows concerns about widespread illegal practices, including the dumping of fish and misreporting of catch. The rules will not only apply for large trawl vessel, but all boats – even small ones – that are registered as being commercial. The cost for the tracking systems, cameras and maintenance of the gear could cost as much as $20,000 per operator. The regulator also says where evidence of illegal activity is uncovered, it will be used for prosecutions. click here to read the story 08:16
Meet Brendan Taylor, one of Foodstuffs’ ‘best’ commercial fishermen
He’s a top commercial fisherman who lives in south Auckland and works from a boat he built with his own hands. Brendan Taylor runs a business based in Manurewa that sees him catch and supply fresh fish to supermarket company Foodstuffs. He spent his childhood fishing for flounder with a small net on the Manukau Harbour.,,, Foodstuffs head of seafood David Jose says many people have the perception commercial fishing companies are “huge industrial operations” with large boats that trawl oceans. That’s not the case in New Zealand though, as he describes Taylor as one of the company’s best commercial fishermen. Video, click here to read the story 10:17
Fishing safety campaign launched in New Zealand
On June 1st, Maritime New Zealand and the NZ Federation of Commercial Fishermen launch a safety campaign, at the Federation’s annual conference, aimed at commercial fishing boat crews and operators. The “Safe Crews Fish More” aims to establish a natural collaboration across the industry. Maritime NZ General Manager Maritime Standards, Sharyn Forsyth, said more than one in four fishing crew are injured every year (28% according to a study by research company, Neilsen, commissioned by WorkSafe and Maritime NZ). ACC statistics show most injuries are to hands, lower back, and spine. The campaign will initially run for a year, focusing two months at a time on the six risk areas: fatigue, manual handling, safety on deck, winches, uncovered machinery, and intoxication. click here to read the story 11:52
New Zealand: West Coast fishermen describe 1.45am liferaft ordeal as heavy seas pound boat after stranding
A father and son survived a harrowing ordeal with their skipper to make it into a liferaft as their boat was pounded by heavy seas in the middle of the night before coming ashore on Cobden beach. Mathew Fisher and his son Adin were on the fishing boat the Kutere, along with owner Les Horncastle. The vessel became stranded on the sandbar while pounded by waves, but the men managed to set off flares and then get off the boat by liferaft. All three are safe and well. “I was down below sleeping at the time when the boat lurched and next minute I was hit by a wave,” Mathew Fisher said. click here to read the story 13:06
Company denies seabed mining would wreck environment
Four months of hearings into a seabed mining application off the South Taranaki coast have finally come to an end. It follows an application by Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) to dig up to 50 million tonnes of ironsand from the ocean floor each year. It would then extract 5 million tonnes of iron ore, and dump the residue on the bottom of the sea. Trans Tasman Resources said the scheme would produce 300 jobs and add $160 million to New Zealand’s GDP. It has already been turned down by the Environmental Protection Authority once, and has come back for a second attempt. Lawyer Robert Makgill represented the fishing industry and said the law clearly required the scheme to be turned down. Click here to read the story 13:31
Hawke’s Bay Seafoods on trial over alleged under-reporting of catches
Dozens of fishing catch returns and other documents are alleged to have been falsified by Napier company Hawke’s Bay Seafoods, a judge has been told at the start of an expected four-month trial in the District Court at Wellington. The trial started before Judge Bill Hastings yesterday, with Ministry for Primary Industries prosecutor Stephanie Bishop saying there was deliberate and wide-reaching under-reporting of catches over about two years. Ms Bishop alleged offences were orchestrated “from the top” and the necessary skippers’ collusion was gained by cash payments and continued employment. Catches totalling up to 63 tonnes of bluenose and 3.5 tonnes of trumpeter were involved, motivated by a lack of catch entitlement and prospects of export market advantages. Charges involve mainly two types of offence, with false statements on catch-return records and selling fish not properly reported to MPI. click here to read the story 14:49
An online home delivered service is going off the hook!
Door to door fish deliveries are taking off in Taranaki like never before. “It started as a part time business, three days a week. But now I’m so busy I can’t go hunting,” said George Cameron, owner of G & J Fish Supplies Ltd in New Plymouth. Cameron said he believed the internet had a lot to do with the resurgence of fresh fish because people could order online and have him deliver it fresh to their door.,, He processes all the fish himself in his small factory setup in New Plymouth, a process that can take to four or five hours each day. Video, click here to read the story 09:01
Four-year investigation fails to find cause of ship fire off Canterbury coast
A four year inquiry into a fire that ripped through a ship off the Canterbury coast, forcing dozens of crew members into lifeboats, has failed to establish “with any certainty” how it started. On Thursday, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) released a report into the blaze, which turned the fishing factory freezer trawler Amaltal Columbia into “a fireball from the bow to the stern” in 2012. The 41 crew on board were ordered to abandon ship, 85 kilometres northeast of the Lyttelton heads, after exhausting their air tanks battling the inferno. The fire broke out about 5am on September 12, 2012, in the fishmeal bagging room on the fish processing deck. continue reading the story here 11:25
New Zealand: Underwater life in Kaikoura Canyon marine nature reserve entirely wiped out after earthquake
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in November at Kaikōura, on New Zealand’s South Island, has destroyed all creatures living on the seabed in the Kaikōura Canyon marine nature reserve. On land the earthquake killed two people and caused massive damage to properties, roads and railways. It caused the sea-floor to leap up by two metres in some locations, exposing stretches of sea snails known as paua along the coast. Further out at sea, it caused a mudslide that destroyed a whole ecosystem. “While fish were still found in the area, this time didn’t record evidence of a single organism living on or in the seabed over a stretch of nearly six kilometres. Nothing. It was quite sobering, and a catastrophic event for the ecology of the canyon,” said Dave Bowden, who led a second exploration of the area. Continue reading the story here 10:49
Greenpeace Criticizes Contracting Onboard Monitoring Cameras and Analysis to Trident
Should a commercial fishing company be made responsible for monitoring what goes on board the commercial fishing vessels? Greenpeace leader Russel Norman says, it is like “the fox guarding the henhouses”. Greenpeace has criticized Ministry for Primary Industries for rolling out cameras on fishing vessel which is supplied as well as monitored by Trident for the fishing industry. The company is owned by Sanford and thirteen other seafood and fishing companies in New Zealand. The news was confirmed by Nathan Guy, the minister for MPI. So it is clear that indeed the fishing industry is responsible for analyzing the video surveillance that comes from its own trawlers and reports any suspicious behavior to the regulators. Executive Director of Greenpeace New Zealand, Russel Norman says that makes things worse as the government has given out the contract and analyzing task to the industry with Nathan Guy and Prime Minister John Key defending it. link 11:17
Safety first crossing the Kaipara bar after Francie tragedy
If in doubt, don’t go out. There are three types of bars on New Zealand coastlines, the Coastguard says – dangerous, very dangerous and extremely dangerous. Coastguard get called to around 15 incidents on bars around the country each year as boats head out to fish deeper offshore waters. The foundering of the Francie on the Kaipara Harbour bar last November, with the tragic loss of eight lives, was an extreme outcome of a fairly common incident. Coastguard Kaipara president Iain Guilliford said the Kaipara bar was easily the biggest in the country, covering nearly 10 km and stretching 8km out to sea. Waves catching up from behind pose the biggest threat coming in. They can lift the rear of the boat pushing the bow under water and causing the boats to skew around and roll, or swamp it. Read the story here 13:46
Lady Sarah captain ‘pretty gutted’ after boat runs aground near Lake Ellesmere
The captain of a fishing vessel that ran aground near Lake Ellesmere is “pretty gutted”. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) received a distress call from aboard the Lady Sarah about 2am, Thursday, Maritime New Zealand spokesman said. It is understood the 22 metre vessel was trawling for elephant fish off the Eastern coast. “Three people were on board, they were evacuated and are now safe and well.” Captain Chris Jarman told Stuff he was “pretty gutted and shaken up”. “Myself and my two crew, no injuries and we got on land perfectly fine, that’s the main thing, everyone is safe.” Read the story here 18:55
Fishing company Sanford Limited rails against Hauraki Gulf “Sea Change” plan
The plan called Sea Change -Tai Timu Tai Pari was unveiled in Auckland last night and suggests a blueprint to tackle growing problems like depleted seafood stocks, sediment damage and pressure from population growth around the gulf. Four years in the making, the collaborative blueprint consulted 14 community and governmental groups to find a way to improve the health and sustainability of the Hauraki Gulf. To reverse declining fish stocks it wants to phase out fishing methods such as trawling, Danish Seining, set netting and dredging. It suggests commercial fishing companies should instead concentrate on producing higher-quality fish, caught using long-lines. The fishing company Sanford is the biggest fisher in the area holding about 40 percent of the quotas in the Hauraki Gulf. The recommendations in the plan were based on emotions, not science, Sanford chief executive Volker Kuntzsch said. Read the story here 16:21
Fishing friends perrish aboard capsized New Zealand charter boat crossing the Kaipara Bar
Seven men died and the search for one person who is presumed dead and the boat, the Francie, which capsized yesterday in Kaipara Harbour continued on Sunday. At a news conference this afternoon, Inspector Willie Fanene said everyone except for the skipper who was on board the capsized boat was of Pacific Island ethnicity. He said they were men aged between 31 and 59 and they were a group of friends who liked to go fishing together from time to time. One of the seven who died was the boat’s skipper, William McNatty, known as Bill. He said one person is still missing but it is likely this person has also died. Inspector Mark Fergus said three people who had been taken to hospital after the accident have now been discharged. He said one person is still missing but it is likely this person has also died. The vessel alerted the Coastguard that it was crossing the bar at 2pm yesterday afternoon, saying it was inbound across the Kaipara Bar with 11 people on-board, requesting a 60-minute watch. An hour later an alarm was sounded in the Coastguard Northern Region Operations Centre when the Bar Crossing Report expired. Read the story here 15:46
Close ports to Sea Shepherd or risk sharing guilt for its vigilantism
Sea Shepherd is again heading into dangerous territory. Last week’s announcement that its new $12 million custom-built Ocean Warrior (watch video here) has arrived here for a Southern Ocean incursion this summer is disturbing. Ship captain Adam Meyerson is boasting the group’s new vessel is a game changer because of its increased speed, long-range fuel tanks, helicopter landing pad and 20,000 litres-per-minute water cannon. Sea Shepherd is once more aiming to engage in close combat with the Japanese research fleet. That puts this group in the category of an environmental non-state combatant. It’s in an international area engaged in the use of force, with actions close to vigilantism. It enjoys the reputation of piracy, but for quasi public rather than private ends. The International Court of Justice judgment in the whaling case two years ago was a hollow victory for environmental activists. The court didn’t rule that what the Japanese were doing was commercial whaling. Nor did it say that issuing permits to take whales by lethal means for scientific research was illegal. This left open the option of a new Japanese scientific whaling program. Read the rest here 08:56
Tsunami hits New Zealand after magnitude-7.8 earthquake strikes near Christchurch
A tsunami has hit after an earthquake struck New Zealand’s South Island. The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-7.8 quake hit just after midnight (11:02 GMT on Sunday), some 95km (59 miles) from Christchurch. The tsunami arrived in the north-eastern coast about two hours later. Officials said the first waves may not be the largest, with tsunami activity possible for several hours. Residents were warned to head inland or for higher ground along the coast. A gauge at Kaikoura, 181 km (112 miles) north of Christchurch, measured a wave of 2.5m (8ft 2ins), according to Weatherwatch.co.nz. Smaller waves are said to be arriving in Wellington and other areas, the website said. But the ministry of civil defence has said the highest waves, which could be as tall as 5m are expected between Malborough, the north-eastern tip of the South Island, and Banks Peninsula, just south of Christchurch. Read the story here 11:08
New Nelson-built fishing vessel F/V Santy Maria carries economic and environmental hopes
The FV Santy Maria is the first vessel in Moana New Zealand’s $25-$30 million fleet renewal project and was officially blessed at Port Nelson on Thursday. The vessel was built in Nelson by Aimex Service Group for Tauranga-based fisherman Roger Rawlinson Technical expertise was provided by Westfleet chief executive Craig Boote. The vessel is named after Rawlinson’s mother Santy, who started the family business RMD with his father Bill more than 25 years ago, and was present at the launch. Designed to suit New Zealand’s conditions, the vessel is said to provide improved fuel efficiency, power and stability, and productivity while using precision seafood harvesting technology. Read the story here 08:20
New Zealand: Jamie Briggs calls for seal cull in Coorong and Lower Lakes
Politicians and council mayors have called for the state government to act on the exploding 
population New Zealand fur seal in the Coorong and Lower Lakes. Federal Member for Mayo Jamie Briggs wrote to minister Jay Weatherill asking for the state government to consider population management of seals because of the impact on commercial fishing operators. “While I appreciate it is a difficult political decision to engage in population management, I believe the time has arrived where this must be undertaken,” Mr Briggs said. He said the sustainability of businesses and the local environment were at risk. Read the rest here 17:05
Searchers find sunken vessel off Canterbury coast as three crew feared dead
Searchers believe they have found a fishing trawler that sunk off the Canterbury coast with three men on board. All are presumed drowned. Underwater scanning equipment pinpointed the missing FV Jubilee a short distance from where the crew made a distress call early Sunday, Ocean Fisheries boss Andrew Stark said at 8.15pm. It was the first sign of the 16-metre vessel after its three-man crew got into trouble and told authorities at 4.30am they intended to get into a life raft. Read the rest here 10:58
Tuna fisherman angry at Kermadec Sanctuary
Despite conservationists hailing the New Zealand government’s decision to turn the Kermadec Islands into a giant marine sanctuary, covering 600-thousand square miles, it hasn’t gone down well with some in the fishing industry. Charles Hummet, who’s based in Nelson, runs a tuna fleet out of Fiji. He told Jim Mora there was no consultation with the industry and says it’s a short-sighted decision. Absolutely staggered really because we talk about our quota management system and how it’s such a good system we’ve got and so on and to suddenly announce in New York,,, Audio, Read the rest here 09:25
Video – New Study Busts Myths Around Undersize Snapper Catch
New Zealand fishing industry leaders say an unprecedented 12 month has dispelled the myths around how many undersize snapper are being caught and returned to the sea. The new data collected by the Ministry for Primary Industries shows the commercial fishing impact on young snapper is much less than previously thought. “The myth was that our boats were returning as much as half of their catch to the sea because it was undersize. This new study has shown that’s simply not true.” Read the rest here 21:08
Fur seals taking over – penguins, pelicans, tuna and fish at risk
According to Mr Adrian Pederick MP, Liberal Member for Hammond , the New Zealand fur seals require immediate management in South Australia. “They are taking over and these fur seals will have an environmental impact in the future if they get down to the Southern Lagoon and Pelican Island and take out the pelican breeding grounds,” Mr Pederick said. “In essence we are saying to the Government, stop sitting on your hands and do something ,,, Read the rest here 14:09
New Zealand: Dead fish ‘leakage’ not dumping, company says
One of New Zealand’s largest fishing companies has defended its loss of 
into the Tasman Sea off Auckland this week saying there was only a “leakage” of between 40 and 45 kilograms of fish. But the man who went on social media to expose what he said was a major fish dumping says there was much more than that. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says it accepts the loss was accidental and will take no further action. Coromandel based trawler Eight Bells, operating for Moana Pacific Fisheries,, Video, Read the rest here 09:05
Three vessels discovered fishing illegally in the Southern Ocean have links to a Spanish company
The vessels are being pursued by HMNZS Wellington, and the Minister reports that the New Zealanders have so far hailed and attempted to board two of the vessels but that their captains both refused to allow boarding. Read the rest here 09:26
Scientists defrost and dissect one of the sea’s rarest creatures: A colossal squid
It was a calm morning in Antarctica’s remote Ross Sea, during the season when the sun never sets, when Capt. John Bennett and his crew hauled up a creature with tentacles like fire hoses and eyes like dinner plates from a mile below the surface. Read the rest here 14:43
New Zealand: Commercial fishing ban in new marine parks – creates new recreational fishing parks
Commercial fishing would be banned from the inner Hauraki gulf and the entire Marlborough Sounds if National creates new recreational fishing parks for those areas. Mr Key said compensation would likely be paid to affected commercial fishers, which could cost up to $20 million. He denied the move was a bid to get fishers on side after a controversial change in bag limits. Read the rest here 08:30
New Zealand: Fishing ‘slavery’ bill passes final hurdle
Greens MP Steffan Browning says passing the final reading of the Fisheries Amendment Bill ensures “the end of a shameful era of human rights abuses under successive governments and several fishing companies”. Read more here 11:04
