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WATERWAYS – Waterfront Business Australia revives orange roughy stock In brief… Jetty nearly ready Armouring rocks are delivered in late August for reclamation work at the site of the new jetty at Portobello, while the Otago Harbour Board pontoon floats in the background. Project foreman Ron Topping, of Amalgamated Builders, says the pontoon is used to transport heavy gear and drive the piles. The goal of the project, which includes a steel-piled wharf with concrete decking and a steel berthing pontoon, is to promote tourism and recreation in Portobello. Trust takes wheelchair users fishing An Auckland trust is seeking donations to hire charter boats on a daily basis to take people restricted to wheelchairs for a day's free fishing in the Hauraki Gulf. Reels on Wheels uses the donations to purchase time on commercial charter boats to take them out fishing. "Suitable charter boats are rare, expenses are high and the regulations are restrictive," says businessman Dave Cowan, who heads the trust. Instead, it aims to use the purpose-built, certified catamaran Wairua, and other suitable vessels. "Any enlargement of the lives of the disabled benefits everybody, especially in reducing rehabilitation and dependency/ support costs," said Cowan. The cost of taking four wheelchair users and four helpers on the Wairua was $800 per day, or $100 per person on the Sea Sprite 11, which can take up to 18 people. See www.reelsonwheels@windowslive. com or phone 09 846-5683 Piracy attacks increase Attacks by Somali pirates hit a record high in the first half of this year, but their success rate reduced dramatically, says the International Maritime Bureau. There were 266 piracy incidents around the world between January and the end of June, up from 196 for the same period last year. Seven seafarers died and 36 were injured, 99 ships were boarded and 76 fired upon. Somali pirates accounted for about 66 percent of the incidents, but "increased vessel hardening" and effective naval intervention meant their success rate in capturing ships they attacked fell by 22 percent, the bureau said. However, they appeared to be becoming more violent, making increased use of rocket-propelled grenades and semi- automatic machine guns, said the bureau director, Pottengal Mukundan. ORANGE ROUGHY STOCKS off the eastern coast of Tasmania are rebuilding, with the best estimate being 48,000 tonnes, says Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. The assessment included employing an acoustic optical system to make echo- soundings to accurately measure the density of orange roughy in the area. "This suggests eastern orange roughy stocks increased by 7400 tonnes between 2006 and 2010," said the CSIRO. Orange roughy is managed in five zones in southern Australia. Targeted fishing is not permitted in the eastern zone. "This report comes as no surprise to the fishing industry," said the chief executive of the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association, Simon Boag. "Although (orange) roughy was overfished, very strong fisheries management legislation in Australia means the fishery is rebuilding well. "Australian fisheries are recognised as the best managed in the world," he said. "To make a sustainable choice, consumers should ask for Australian-caught fish." REPERCUSSIONS FOLLOW FERRY DISASTER ONE DOESN'T THINK of large waves on the Volga River, but the river system incorporates some sizeable lakes, and large waves reportedly caused the multi- decked river cruise ship Bulgaria to sink in about 20m of water, reports our US correspondent Hugh Ware. The tragedy cost 122 people (including 28 children) their lives in Russia's worst maritime disaster since 1986. When the ship was raised, investigators surmised one engine may have failed because the steering wheel was found to be turned hard right and one engine had been asked to deliver full power. The accident had immediate repercussions. A criminal case was launched against the captains of the freighters Dunaysky 6 and Arbat for failing to take part in the rescue. A check of cruise ships on the Volga River found 90 percent failed to meet basic safety requirements and 23 were banned from operating as passenger ships. Prosecutors have initiated 66 administrative cases against vessel owners. Only three weeks after the Bulgaria disaster, the excursion boat Lastochka ran into a moored barge on the Moscow River, killing nine partygoers. The operator, who was also killed, had already been fined three times this year for operating an overloaded vessel. Study finds geothermal food is toxic A STUDY OF 14 sites around Rotorua by the research institute NIWA and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust has found toxicants in traditional wild food could pose a risk to people's health. Gathering and eating wild kai, like koura (crayfish), watercress, eels and more recently trout, have long been part of life for Te Arawa people. But Rotorua's geothermal activity imparts high levels of naturally occurring metals, such as mercury and arsenic, to fish and shellfish caught in the area. The region is also affected by pesticides from agriculture and metals in stormwater. The NIWA team found if trout was 44 Professional Skipper November/December 2011 randomly gathered across the sites there was an increased risk to consumers from eating it, and it recommended one meal per month. The survey group ate trout more often than this, indicating their health could be at risk, mainly from mercury. John Reeve, principal advisor toxicology for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, said iwi were being advised about the risk of absorbing mercury and arsenic when eating watercress taken from geothermal areas. Consumption guidelines were also in place for other species, such as koura. The next step would be to look at more samples across more sites. www.lenfestocean.org