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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Smartphone app aids fishermen A NEW SMARTPHONE fishing application has won the Wireless Government Award at the FutureGov Summit in Malaysia from October 12-14. The summit brings together public sector leaders and top officials from across the Asia-Pacific region. The application notes the user's location through GPS positioning and links them to a range of information, including fishing rules for the area and local notices. It was developed by Adam Hutchinson from Mogeo of Christchurch, along with the Ministry of Fisheries and MAF. The app is expected to help recreational fishers know the rules and help protect fish stocks. Fishers with smartphones can download the application free of charge from Apple's online store or the Android market. Fishers can also view short video clips of useful fishing hints, such as how to return undersized fish safely to the water. SOLAR POWERS DOC ON GREAT BARRIER NEW SOLAR POWER systems being built on Great Barrier Island will provide Department of Conservation bases with cheap, clean and quiet power compared with diesel. The infrastructure company Vector has been awarded a $500,000 contract to build two solar power systems to power the bases at Port Fitzroy and Okiwi, replacing four diesel generators. New battery banks and inverters will provide a much more stable power supply, with new, smaller and more efficient diesel generators for backup power. There will also be new switchboards, cabling and other infrastructure. "The project will be one of the largest off- grid solar power installations in the country," says Tim Brandenburg, DoC's area manager for Warkworth and Great Barrier Island. "There will be 138 solar panels providing at least 80 percent of the power needed to run DoC's bases at Port Fitzroy and Okiwi." Eleven staff work at the two sites. The contract is part of DoC's sustainability programme. This aims to halve the department's use of diesel to generate power at sites not on the national electricity grid by converting to renewable energy systems such as solar power. The two solar power systems are expected to reduce DoC's diesel consumption on Great Barrier by up to 90 percent and lower direct operating costs for the Warkworth Great Barrier Area by about $45,000 a year. Solar power produces minimal pollution. "Plus, we won't have the high cost of maintaining the ageing diesel generators, which are really noisy," says Brandenburg. The lower maintenance required will free up staff time to work on other conservation priorities. Great Barrier will join Motutapu, Tiritiri Matangi, Motuihe and Hauturu or Little Barrier as the fifth island in the marine park where DoC has replaced diesel generators with solar power. Motuora Island's solar power system was funded by the Motuora Restoration Society. DoC has also installed solar power on Stewart (Rakiura), Chatham, Maud, Kapiti and Mana Islands, producing significant savings for the department. The chief executive officer of Vector, Simon Mackenzie, says his company welcomes the opportunity to work with DoC to develop a sustainable solar solution to meet its power needs on Great Barrier Island. "We're pleased to be able to share DoC's commitment to finding sustainable solutions to our energy needs," says Mackenzie. The chair of the local Great Barrier board, Paul Downie, says the conversion is in line with the islanders' goal to become a leader in the use of clean, renewable energy. "Because we're not on the national grid we have to generate our own power. This means we're perfectly placed to showcase sustainable energy generation to the whole country." Great Barrier's new airport terminal, opened by Auckland Transport late last year, is powered primarily by solar panels on the roof. AUCKLAND HARBOUR ON December 7 was alive with ferries too-ing and fro-ing. Visibility was not the best on this morning, the wind was brisk and there in the middle of it all was this drongo paddling his board from the North Shore to the city. Maritime New Zealand had just been highlighting the number of water fatalities and this guy wasn't even wearing a high- visibility vest. January/February 2012 Professional Skipper 41 VIP.S78