Tag Archives: Sanford Ltd
It’s here – the future of commercial fishing
New trawling technology – billed as “the future of sustainable fishing” – has been unveiled to the New Zealand seafood industry at its annual conference in Auckland this afternoon. The system, which has been in development in this country for almost 10 years, uses a large, flexible PVC tube instead of a traditional mesh trawling net. New Zealand fishing companies Aotearoa Fisheries, Sanford and Sealord are investing $26 million into the commercialisation phase of the technology, called Precision Seafood Harvesting. The Government is matching industry investment and scientists from Plant & Food Research, a Crown Research Institute, are working with the three fishing firms to trial the system on commercial vessels. Photos, Video, >>click to read<< 07:33
Tauranga skipper Bert Aitken retires after 43 years in fishing industry
After 43 years working at sea, commercial skipper Robert ‘Bert’ Aitken has “never” been seasick. Aitken has been working in the fishing industry for 43 years, spending the majority of that time at commercial seafood company Sanford. Wednesday was his last day. He started his career as an unqualified deckhand, eventually working his way up to become a skipper. For a typical fishing trip, Aitken would travel from Tauranga to Auckland on a Wednesday. The boat would then leave Thursday morning and not return until the following Wednesday. Everything needed to be organised beforehand, including checking the weather, making a plan on where to fish and getting ice and bins, he said. He and his two crew members, Matangaro “Mat”’ Ben and Mike Jones, would then head out. Aitken said they fished on the East Coast, anywhere between Cape Brett in the Bay of Islands and Cape Runaway. Photos, >click to read< 19:21
Forfeited: Seafood firm loses $20m vessel after trawling in protected area
Seafood company Sanford Limited has lost a $20 million fishing vessel after it admitted trawling in a protected fishing area off the coast of Stewart Island. The Christchurch District Court has ordered the company to forfeit the San Waitaki, a 64m deep water stern trawler with a processing factory and freezer facilities on board, to the Crown. The company has also been fined $36,000. In February, Sanford pleaded guilty to trawling in a lower buffer zone of a benthic protected area (BPA). >click to read< 21:39
Caught: New Zealand Company faces losing $20m trawler fishing in a protected zone
Sanford Ltd, and two employees, skipper/master Grant Walker and first mate William Lash, used trawl nets on several occasions in a Benthic Protection Area (BPA) in New Zealand seas in 2017 and 2018. The company, along with Walker and Lash, have pleaded guilty to breaches of the Fisheries Regulations and are being sentenced at Christchurch District Court. Sanford is the registered owner of the 64m deep-water stern trawler San Waitaki,, On both trips, 50-year-old self-employed fishermen Walker and Lash, 45, trawled along the Puysegur BPA seabeds on several occasions. Sanford said they relied on the professionalism of the master and crew of their vessels to follow company instructions and be familiar with all the relevant laws. >click to read< 21:35
