Professional Skipper - Free Sample issue (July/Aug 2011)

WATERWAYS – Waterfront Business In brief… Boaties urged to tune out Careless boaties who leave their VHF radios on are blocking emergency channels, endangering rescue operations and prompting costly efforts to track down rogue transmissions. Radio Spectrum Management, the government agency responsible for managing radio signs, is warning boaties to make sure their VHF microphones aren't jammed following two recent incidents in Wellington. On Waitangi Day weekend, Picton and Wellington stations were disrupted by continuous transmission on the distress channel from a boat in the Endeavour Inlet area. On Good Friday, a jammed microphone interrupted Farewell, D'Urville and Picton maritime radio stations. Two new minders for Auckland waters Auckland Council has appointed two former Maritime New Zealand staff members to the new positions of harbourmaster and deputy harbourmaster for the Auckland region. The new harbourmaster is Andrew Hayton, who was recently the master of a large cruise ship operating in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean Seas. Andrew has had a long career in the maritime industry, starting as a deck cadet. From 2004 to 2008 he was a marine accident investigator and port state control inspector for Maritime NZ. His deputy, Christiaan Moss, was previously a safety and environmental auditor with Maritime NZ. He also spent a year as deputy harbourmaster for the Auckland Regional Council. Christiaan recently led the Maritime NZ team which undertook the Auckland Council audit against the Port and Harbour Safety Code. Andrew and Christiaan, who began their duties on May 30, replace former harbourmaster John Lee Richards and his deputy, Jim Dilley. Shipco delivers new tug The Whangarei shipbuilding company Shipco has just launched its latest 15m single chine tug for an Australian client. She is powered by twin marine diesel engines to fixed-pitch propellers with steerable nozzles. The tug has been built to Marpol Convention requirements. See the full story in the next issue of Professional Skipper. 40 Professional Skipper July/August 2011 r Earthquake rubble will speed port repairs gency phase of the earthquake recovery ABOUT ONE MILLION tonnes of rubble from buildings damaged in Christchurch's big earthquake is to be dumped on a 10ha big earthquake is to be dumped on a 10ha site at the port of Lyttelton to restore the container terminal. Fast-tracking the project will assist with Christchurch's economic recovery and dispose of some of the estimated 8.5 million tonnes of rubble and material generated by the February 22 earthquake, the Minister of Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, said in announcing the decision on May 25. Around 42,000 tonnes of rubble was deposited on the site during the civil emer- MCNEE IS THE MAN TALK AROUND THE traps indicates the current director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Wayne McNee, is likely to head the new super-ministry incorporating the Ministry of Fisheries. McNee will oversee the merger and act as chief executive of MFish, as well as continuing his director- general role, until the new ministry, which has yet to be given a title, takes effect next February 1. McNee is highly regarded in government circles. He's seen as a skilled leader and change manager. He's also credited with re-organising MFish, which was said to be in poor shape when he took over two years ago. McNee previously worked in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. He has already earned positive feedback following substantial changes he has made since taking over the top job at MAF just before Christmas, including devising a strategy to make MAF more friendly and efficient. Assuming he heads up the new ministry, his intimate knowledge of fisheries should prove to be invaluable as the two work cultures merge. Scientists try to help tuna stocks SCIENTISTS WITH THE International Seafood Sustainability Foundation have embarked on a two-month expedition in the Pacific to find ways to reduce the damaging accidental toll of tuna fishing. They want to find techniques to help fishermen find the abundant skipjack tuna without also catching sharks, turtles or threatened tuna species. The scientists are sailing on board the converted tuna purse- seiner Yolanda L. "The overall objective is to explore some potential options for reducing the mortality of bigeye and yellowfin tuna, while maximising catches of skipjack," said the research leader, Dr Kurt Schaefer. For reasons that are not entirely clear, fish and other marine creatures tend to congregate around floating objects such as logs. Fishermen take advantage of this by deploying fish aggregating devices, or by deploying fish aggregating devices, or FADs, equipped with GPS and sonar. A purse seine net can encircle and harvest the purse seine net can encircle and harvest the entire shoal. The scientists hope understanding what makes various species move towards the FAD and then leave it again could open doors to develop much more selective fishing techniques or new gear. This could entail fishing at different times of the day, fishing at specific depths under the waves or by more targeted use of FADs. "One of the things we're doing is behavioural studies using acoustic tags and behavioural studies using acoustic tags and telemetry," said Dr Schaefer. The Yolanda L will spend two months in the eastern Pacific Ocean before moving to the western and central Pacific and Atlantic Oceans over the next year. The foundation is a global coalition of scientists, the tuna industry and the World Wildlife Fund. authorised by the national controller. The port lost 30 percent of its operating space in the quake and 14ha of container terminal would need to be repaired at least twice over the next three to five years, due to ongoing settlement, Brownlee said. The Minister for the Environment, Dr Nick Smith, said it was not practical to Nick Smith, said it was not practical to subject the project to the normal consent process, which could take up to two years. The rubble will be trucked directly from the city to the port, rather than being double-handled, saving an estimated $90 million.

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