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
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lf model y with a ha Phillip Care RISING TO THE CHALLENGE – WITH ONE STEP BACK FROM THE GRAVE BY KEITH INGRAM I t was in Professional Skipper issue July/August of 2008 when I first raised the alarm over the creeping death that was invading our commercial fishing fleet. Five years later, not a lot has changed. Today, the average age of our trawler fleet is 40 years young and this is only because of five new trawlers, four of them by Stark Bros in the last eight years, which have effectively lowered the benchmark. In the last decade we have lost over 25 trawlers from the inshore fleet. Granted, many have just faded away, but many died in action and have tragically taken the lives of fishermen. When we look at the deep water, now fished predominantly by Foreign Charter Vessels, it is easy to understand how we have lost so much. Old rust buckets from another world are fishing with foreign crews catching our lucrative fish quota for New Zealand fishing companies on the cheap. Yes, if you can't beat them, then let's join them was the catch phrase as we proceeded to downsize what was originally about New Zealandisation in our deep water fishing fleet. But this story is not about the FCVs or their crews, as the Government has at long last adopted a responsible approach to this archaic problem of the substandard vessels working our exclusive economic zone along with the horrific conditions and pay scales crew had to endure. The tables have now been turned and who knows, it might be just enough to create excitement in those companies to reinvest in the New Zealandisation of our deepwater fishing fleet and their crews. But it's the inshore trawler fleet I want to focus on, as this aging fleet of once fine vessels is dying. We continue to lose vessels with no replacements on the horizon. Five in the last two years, yes, natural attrition continues to take its deadly toll. Five years ago when speaking at a fishing conference, I made 16 Professional Skipper July/August 2013 the bold statement that the quota owners needed to ease up on the purse strings, so that the younger generation of contract fishermen could make some money to not only repair their vessels, but also to replace them with a new and modern fleet. Nothing has changed. In fact, I said that if they did not allow these younger generation fishermen to make money there would soon not be an inshore fishing fleet to catch their quota and as such their investment would become worthless. The response to this was: We will use FCV and foreign crews, to which I replied: If you think you are going to bring those deep water vessels manned by foreign crews onto the coast it would be over my dead body. While I got tacit support from the fishermen and one company of note, not a lot has happened. What did occur was a challenge for me to put me money where my mouth was. Excuse me, but the very people who could afford to affect change were saying shape up or ship out, or words to that effect. I must have missed something here. Anyway, the upshot was that I was still seething a couple of years later when at a marine industry function, somebody again raised the issue of our aging and dying inshore fishing fleet, along with the prospect of having foreigners fish our inshore waters. I responded and issued a challenge to the New Zealand ship and workboat industry to design a 16m trawler that could be built for a million dollars and promptly got laughed out of the room. Now, hold on, I said. I am not joking, the 16m size is because Stark Bros, after building a couple of new vessels, determined that the 16m size range was ideal for our inshore waters. Basically, the old 50 footers; there's something to be said for the old timers who probably had it just about right and not a lot has changed over the years. Fish are still fish and we need to look after the catch like never before. I had put the price tag at $1 million because with our new www.skipper.co.nz