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/39567
NEWS KOURA FARMER IS RED-FACED Freshwater koura farmer Vince Scully saw red recently after a creek upstream from his property at Mill Rd, Kaikoura, was sprayed with herbicides. Scully, a director of Waikoura Springs koura farm, said the creek turned red for 40 minutes. Local dairy farmers were angered when Scully blamed them. Further enquiries by the Kaikoura Star revealed an Environment Canterbury (ECan) contractor had sprayed the banks of the creek to control gorse as part of its pest management programme. Kaikoura ECan manager Kevin Heays said the contractor's spray contained a non-toxic vegetable dye which turned the water red. "The creek needs to keep running so the spraying is done on demand. The water is tested downstream at the time of spraying, about once a year. So far there has never been an instance where we have put stuff in there that is harmful," Heays said. He agreed one area that could be improved was notifi cation. The contractors operated under a resource consent and had fully complied with all its conditions. STIRLING EFFORTS The University of Stirling signed an agreement with Guangdong Ocean University on June 24 which will see students from China travelling to Scotland to study aquaculture. Up to 15 students will transfer from China following their four-year undergraduate BSc degree to pursue a master's degree at Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture. Professor Sandra Adams of the Institute of Aquaculture said the agreement grew from close links developed over 15 years. "Our research areas are very similar, focusing on fi sh disease diagnosis and vaccine development." Professor Adams, who is now an honorary professor of GOU, has worked on a research project funded by the Chinese government to develop Vibrio vaccines in fi sh. Last year she advised on their vaccine development programme. Several Stirling academics have also visited China to give lectures and advise on the research programme of their fi sh disease laboratory. These visits have been reciprocated when Chinese academics visited Stirling to conduct research. Dr Trevor Telfer, the course director for the master's programme, said students in the 2010/11 classes were from 22 countries, not including China. The Institute of Aquaculture says it is the leading international centre in its fi eld and the largest aquacultural institute of its kind in the world. founded in 1935, has 18 faculties, including marine science, engineering, economics and management, and 22,600 students. KIWI SALMON RATED TOP IN SYDNEY New Zealand King Salmon received further acclaim when it was presented with the prize for the Best Supplier – Aquaculture in Australia at the Sydney Fish Market's Seafood Excellence Awards on July 30. The award is for the aquaculture supplier who delivers the most popular and highest quality aquaculture product into New South Wales. All the products must be sold through Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd, either through its auction or direct sales systems. New Zealand King Salmon's products are marketed in Australia under the Regal King Salmon brand. The Australian general manager, Markus Gerlich, said their entry highlighted the company's farming practices, supported by its Global Trust accreditation and its awards from the British Humane Society. Gerlich says the brand is defi ned by the calibre of the chefs who serve it in their AMENDMENTS STRENGTHEN LEGISLATION Supplementary orders proposed for inclusion in the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 3) will strengthen the legislation, says the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Phil Heatley. "This legislation is all about enabling sustainable use of our valuable natural resources to build the economy, create more jobs and get more people into work, especially in the regions. A great deal of work has gone on to ensure we have come up with workable solutions," Heatley said. The orders include the mechanism for delivering the Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 to Maori. It also amends the Waikato Regional Coastal Plan to establish a new 300ha marine farming zone. A further order ensures the interests of commercial fi shing quota holders can be balanced with those of aquaculture. If the aquaculture enterprise delivers materially greater value to New Zealand than commercial fi shing in the same area, an independent arbitrator will decide what should be paid to the commercial fi sher if the interested parties cannot themselves reach agreement. 4 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 menus. They include Matt Moran, Warren Turnbull and Colin Fassnidge. The Sydney win reinforced the fact that customer and consumer satisfaction were key elements to its success in global markets, said the chief executive of NZ King Salmon, Grant Rosewarne. "The taste and texture appeal of our Chinook products has some of the world's best chefs saying our king salmon has superior taste." Guangdong Ocean University, KIWI TECHNOLOGY SAVES RARE MARINE SAMPLES A sophisticated monitoring system from a young New Zealand company that began as an AUT University start-up is protecting rare marine samples used in ongoing research. When Emma Beatson, a doctorate student and research offi cer at the university's Earth and Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, and her colleagues, needed to make sure their container of rare marine specimens was always kept cool, iMonitor used its remote monitoring technology to ensure the success of the research. An incubated technology company from AUT University's Business Innovation Centre, iMonitor provides solutions that enable assets to be managed anywhere in the world via satellite, cellular and wireless mesh networks. "iMonitor approached us when they learned we had a refrigerated container," Emma said. "The iMonitor technology has helped us by providing a continuous stream of data via the web on the temperature of our container. Regular checks of the data give us peace of mind that our samples are always at the required temperature. "This is particularly helpful, as we are usually based on a different site to where our samples are stored, so we can't physically be there to check on them as often as we would like." The founder and general manager of iMonitor, Allan Weeks, says the case study is one of many where iMonitor is using its technology to protect peoples' businesses and products. "Anybody who owns or is in charge of expensive equipment and products is automatically exposing themselves and their company to risks of failure or breakdown. Sometimes insurance will cover the loss and sometimes it won't. Either way, there is a cost, so the trick is not to let it happen in the fi rst place." Weeks says real-time wireless remote monitoring and control can be the 24-hour watchdog for virtually anything and can send alerts automatically at the hint of a problem before it becomes a disaster. "Most people think because the technology is relatively new, it must be expensive, and yes it was," he says. "However, costs have come way down in the past