The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/101615
WATERFRONT BUSINESS In brief��� New RN submarine joins sister at Naval Base MS Ambush, the second of the Navy���s planned flotilla of seven Astute-class submarines, made her debut in Scotland arriving at Faslane in September. The ��1bn hunter-killer, second of seven Astute-class submarines, joined her sister at HM Naval Base Clyde after a four day voyage from Barrow. The state-of-the-art boat is a successor to the trusty Trafalgar class but is 50 percent bigger, twice as powerful and even more stealthy. The boat conducted basic trials on the 200 mile journey to her new home at Faslane, from Cumbria, where she was built by BAE Systems. She also carried out the very first winching for the Astute class as she joined up with a Merlin of 829 Naval Air Squadron and HMS St Albans, testing the challenging ���evolution��� of a transfer from the submarine to helicopter. Foreign fishing crews: consultation Consultation on proposed changes to immigration rules for foreign fishing crew is being extended to businesses in the inshore fishing sector by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Policies for foreign fishing crew currently only apply to Foreign Charter Vessels, but when FCVs reflag to New Zealand as they are required to do by 2016, it won���t be possible to legally distinguish them from other New Zealand-flagged vessels. To address this, the current consultation proposes to extend the regime to all foreign fishing crews whether deep sea or inshore. MBIE���s Michael Papesch said: ���We do not believe that there will be a significant impact on the inshore fishing sector which traditionally employs far fewer foreign crew members than the deep sea fleets, so overall the changes will be minimal for most inshore fishing operators. That said, it is still important that we consult with these businesses��� to ensure that before final decisions are made, we understand what the impacts might be for inshore fishers and avoid any unintended consequences. We do not want to impose un-necessary costs or burdens on a part of the sector where no significant issues have arisen to date.��� 40 Professional Skipper January/February 2013 Marketplace now tracking fishing sustainability VESSELS HAVE signed up for independent auditing by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation���s ProActive Vessel Register. The register is a publicly accessible database of vessels committed to improving fishing practices accessible by retailers, processers, suppliers and consumers, wanting to identify vessels taking a proactive approach to conservation and enacting responsible, modern day fishing practices. The PVR provides validated information on each vessel tracking vessel-specific detail on their progress towards implementing a series of ISSF standards. Commitments include improvements such as 100 percent observer coverage, skipper training and the end to at-sea trans-shipments for purse seine vessels. Vessels can go to ISSF���s website and fill out an application to begin the process of joining the ProActive Vessel Register. To ensure transparency an independent third-party will conduct audits and a 38 regular review of vessels on the register. Vessels will be provided iPads with educational materials, knowledge testing, and data gathering applications for skippers. All data recorded will be provided to the scientific bodies of the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations on a confidential basis, to help improve science and shape policy. As ISSF identifies even better practices, and vessels put in the work to meet the new standard, new boxes will be added and checked on the PVR. The goal is for the list to live and grow as our scientific understanding evolves. Companies from North America, Central America, South America, Europe and Africa have vessels listed on the PVR including: Albacora, Interatun, Guayatuna, Integral Fishing Services, Overseas Tuna Company, Pesquera Ugavi, Uniocean, Atunera Dularra, Atunera Sant Yago, Conservas Isabel Ecuatoriana, Servicios Atuneros del Norte, and TriMarine. Visit: iss-foundation.org CHINESE SUBSIDIES KILLING PACIFIC TUNA FISHERY THE PACIFIC ISLANDS tuna industry maintains that fishing pressure on southern albacore tuna is in truth much worse than the figures suggested by scientific studies. The Pacific Islands Tuna Industry Association stated that a fleet of new Chinese boats has made it impossible for local fishers to make a living. In the last two years, between 200 and 250 new Chinese vessels have arrived in the fishery, making a total of about 590 Chinese and Taiwanese vessels actively fishing. PITIA Chairperson Charles Hufflett, said the fuel subsidies the Chinese pay their fleet are making it impossible for the Pacific Industry to compete with them, as fuel costing above US$700 a ton is subsidised. Their fishing activity is still not at the maximum sustainable yield of 85,000 tonnes, boats are currently recorded to be catching 81,000 tonnes. Hufflett believes scientists should be imposing a Maximum Economic Yield catch limit, that level of catch at which you can economically, sustainably catch in that fishery, rather than a Maximum Sustainable Yield limit. Furthermore, Hufflet explained that the industry is usually about two years ahead of science, which means that scientific data is showing numbers higher than those in reality. ���We have had now three successive years now of lowering and poor catches in the southern albacore fishery. That information is still not filtering through into the science process.���