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Haircut time – no chairs, no waiting "To do this, we need to ensure we are getting the best economic return from our deep-sea fisheries, robust employment protection provisions available on land are reflected at sea, and monitoring FCVs and domestic deep-sea operators in our waters is adequate," says Heatley. Great stuff, and one would expect the president of the National Party, Peter Goodfellow, who is on the board of the Sanford Fishing Company, representing a significant family shareholding, will now step aside and distance himself because of a potential conflict of interest. We understand Sanford has significant foreign charter arrangements and this inquiry should encompass the full FCV fleet working within New Zealand waters. Not to do so would be tantamount to the government being guilty of doing a quick sweep under the table. Meanwhile, we understand the Department of Labour is at last investigating the plight of the two foreign fishing crews who claim they've been underpaid, mistreated and in some cases physically and sexually abused. On the rusted Korean fishing vessel Shin Ji they had been working long shifts at sea, catching eels, and the conditions were cramped and unhealthy. In an interview with 3 News, one deckhand, Hendra, stated they had been underpaid and mistreated for two years. "There are often times when I got asked to massage the captain whether I liked it or not. I had to massage him for hours," Hendra said through an interpreter. In these discussions it was hard to differentiate between what was therapeutic massage and what was sexual abuse, as the seamen were very embarrassed to talk of such happenings. Hendra said he was very angry about this entire event. He worked at least 16 hours a day and on one occasion he didn't sleep for 30 hours, he said. For that, and two years spent working on the ship, he says he was paid just $4000. The Shin Ji fished New Zealand waters, so they should have been paid $15 an hour. They say they're owed tens of thousands of dollars and I believe them. An engineroom worker, Sakroni, said, "I've been working 21 and a half months on the ship and was paid only $5000." To complicate matters, the ship, which is chartered by Christchurch-based Tu' Ere Fishing, went into voluntary administration as well. The administrator told TV3 News he will investigate the claims made by the crew and if it turns out the company does owe them money, it will be paid out. But will there be any money left to pay? Serious words are common The Department of Labour is investigating both cases. In the meantime, both groups of men say they won't give up or leave the country until they're paid what they're owed. Meanwhile, the crew of both ships remain holed up ashore in both Auckland and Christchurch, because the fishing companies and the people responsible for the welfare of these men refuse to face their own responsibilities in the vain hope the authorities will make it go away. Well, they won't, because too many people now have an understanding of the atrocities that are happening on our high seas which are condoned by these companies. And now the wider maritime community and the public will be seeking answers to the many questions raised in this article. The burning question is not about foreign versus New Zealand labour on our deepwater vessels. It's about the "New Zealandisation" of the deepwater fishing fleet. If these vessels' New Zealand owners choose to employ foreign skills, they must offer the same terms and conditions as New Zealand law prescribes for all seafarers, including New Zealand fishermen and factory hands. Oyang, part of Korea's giant Sajo Group, says it cannot afford to pay New Zealand minimum wages to crews – although it tells government officials it is doing so. "If we pay like the Kiwi, our business cannot survive. That is why we have to invite in Indonesian crews," an Oyang official said. The key question in all this is just where do Maori sit in all this debate, when they knowingly hold 42 percent of our fisheries quota, much of it in the deepwater fishery. Can our respected kaumatua and kuia sit comfortably, knowing their fish is being caught by what is close to slave labour? Will they have the mana to say, "Enough is enough?" Will they be able to stand up and say, "Until we can use New Zealand boats manned by New Zealand seafarers, hopefully many of Maori descent, the fish can remain uncaught and stay in the water." Trust me, the fish will not go to waste or be dumped or lost through bad fishing practices. The fish will survive, we do not have to catch them all. Just think, would it not be nice to see a return of our deepwater fishing fleet to New Zealandisation? We have the skills and we had the boats, but sold most in preference for using cheap FCV labour. Yes, as New Zealanders, we have the ability to achieve this, it's in our own hands. Let's start making some humane, sound business decisions based on what's right for New Zealand and our people, and not what we can show on the bottom line of some corporate balance sheet. September/October 2011 Professional Skipper 23