Professional Skipper Magazine from VIP Publications

letters BEST MAGAZINE Dear Sir I congratulate you, as many others have done, on the quality and standard of Professional Skipper magazine. This is the best magazine for boat owners and those interested in boats and all things marine. Please keep up the good work. Don Mitchell, Blenheim YACHTIES' ARROGANCE Dear Sir The latest reported incident of a large ship (Zhe Hai 505) versus yachts in Tauranga harbour reminded me of a time nearly 30 years ago when I was deck handing on the Blue Boat tug Thor which was assisting one of the old Navy frigates arriving at Devonport Naval Base. The frigate had to do a 180 degree turn across the harbour before entering the base which caused a number of yachts to change tack whilst racing. A small launch came close by and one of the occupants (beer bottle in hand) yelled up to the group of officers standing on the bridge top, "can't you see there's a f*****g yacht race on?" Which got no response other than my "you don't say!" I was gobsmacked at this display of arrogance and ignorance but since then have come to realise that it's how professional and commercial operators are seen. We are just an irritating interruption to their God given right to be on the water. Rick Barry, Auckland HOMEBREW ANTIFOUL Dear Sir I have just been reading Professional Skipper magazine at the library and have to say that it's a great magazine but sometimes I have trouble getting hold of it. I am retired and have to rely on the library these days or the RSA – but they don't get this magazine [at the RSA]. I am a retired fisherman and can say that what Ian McDonald said about his old man adding stuff to antifoul paint is true. In those days most of our fishing boats were under 40 feet and many of the long liners were converted pleasure boats, cheap older boats with the motor up front, big ice boxes in the cabin and steering and fishing was all done down aft. We used kurilon line in boxes, a 1000 hooks was a big set for one man in those days. 20 bins of fish, $500 bucks was good hard money. Anyway, we did not pull our boats out very often for survey because of the cost, plus we were under the fishing boat survey length so no problems with the marine department. Problem was the antifoul paints available were either expensive or did not work very well so we had to resort to putting in different additives from the farmers' suppliers. DDT worked bloody well and you could buy it by the can, about the same size tin as baking powder. I think it was enough to make a thousand gallons of weed spray or maybe it was 100 gallons, anyway, we used a quarter of a can per gallon of paint. Mind you, I only needed two gallons, one each side, two coats, four coats for the prop and nothing would grow on it for years. It was good stuff. The problem with all this EPA stuff is that they are full of all these green do-gooders who have no idea of the cost of marine growth, it's only marine weeds, so what's the problem. Maybe a drop of our old antifoul brew slapped between their yappers will sort them out. What do you reckon? Dave Newman, retired fisherman 4 Professional Skipper July/August 2013 MUNZ OR GUILD Dear Sir I can't help noticing that whenever there is an employment issue with the fishing industry the Maritime Union of New Zealand is asked for, or voices, its opinion. MUNZ have never, and still do not, represent those in the fishing industry. The Fishing Industry Guild is the representative body for both New Zealand and foreign fishermen working here in New Zealand. Companies with FCVs pay fees to the guild for every foreign crewmember working in New Zealand, however, that cannot be said for every Kiwi fisherman. I know a lot, including myself, who aren't members. Many MUNZ members I know don't want a bar of the fishing industry; the work's too hard, it's too wet, too far south, the trips are too long or they have to share two and four-man berths... The list goes on. So while MUNZ is entitled to its say, in the greater scheme of things their opinion matters not a jot as I believe they have neither the numbers nor members with the desire, and arguably the skills, to man our inshore or deep sea fishing vessels. Or is MUNZ indicating that they do want to take over the role that the Guild has so far been so mute about? It's time for the Guild to stand up and earn the substantial monies it receives into its coffers. Chris Carey, Christchurch BILLFISH BLOWOUT Dear Sir I would normally be reluctant to waste my time replying to someone who calls himself "Captain Asparagus" but he has misrepresented my letter and dodged the issue. It is typical of foolish self-proclaimed "greenies" like Captain A to go straight to the well versed propaganda abuse of "self-serving, greedy fishermen" without ever bothering to research any facts to back up their claims. In this case, the facts suggest any self-serving greed lies with the recreational and charter industry. Pretty much all of New Zealand's fish stocks are sustainably managed under the quota management system. There are laws and harsh penalties against dumping fish that are under the QMS (I can't believe we still have to explain this to the public). In the case of marlin, however, it is unlawful not to dump them. If marlin was under the QMS, then a small amount of quota could be set and held by the Crown. If each longliner was allowed a limited amount of ACE to cover its dead catch, the problem would be fixed and charter operators would still be the only ones making money out of marlin. Mr Cawker asserts that, were the moratorium on marlin to be lifted, recreational fishermen wouldn't be able to catch them. This is bollocks. He is either a very poor fisherman or he is deliberately misleading readers. The comparatively few marlin caught on broadbill and tuna target sets would have no effect on the recreational fishing. His comment that, "within a season there would be no more marlin in our waters than yellowfin", is so factually incorrect that it makes me wonder if Captain Asparagus and Captain Paul Watson are the same person. They have the same disregard for the truth and are obviously of a similar character. Like tuna and broadbill, marlin are highly migratory and other Pacific nations would have as much, if not more, effect on stocks as New Zealand. These other Pacific nations have all been landing commercially caught marlin for decades and marlin stocks show no sign of being commercially vulnerable. Apart from not being required by law to dump dead marlin, www.skipper.co.nz

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