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/73196
LETTERS CONTINUED… South Island for the Manapouri Power Scheme, and many salvage operations. A wonderful seaboat! Harry Julian, Auckland MINISTER STALLING? Dear Sir It was quite incredible how Wellington's fisheries officials were attacked at a Gisborne public meeting in April. This department controls commercial extractions, poaching, fish abundance and should be seen as fair for all sectors. Unfortunately many people believe the public has not been treated fairly. The New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council has finally succeeded in getting a review of the concession after many years of consultation. The new and fifth minister of fisheries in this period of spatial conflict, David Carter, said he has not had "enough time" to consider the impacts if the concession was abolished. Is this stalling? The new fishing year started on April 1, making us miss another year, but the minister has the audacity to increase the commercial quota by 29.3 tonnes. He has based his decision on commercial abundance which is distorted, and includes the concession fish. We believe that to increase the quota while the concession issues lie unresolved on the table, is just another smack in the public face. The department works hand in hand with the commercial sector and commercial catches are being sustained by concession size fish before they even enter the public fishery. None of our requests were considered, such as closed seasons when crays are in berry or soft shelled, recreational only areas, and of course the concession. We also were hogtied and are not allowed to talk with the media to consult with the wider public. Maybe when the minister comes up with his concession decision he will realise that as long as the concession is in place it creates an inequity in access for the public, that can only end up in the disputes process where he has compromised the situation. If people are ever going to have a better chance of gathering a feed of crayfish over summer then the inequity of the preferential size limit for commercial must be resolved. But if all this fails, we may find that disenchanted Maori from Gisborne will solve the problem by applying for a mataitai area that will still give public access and keep commercial out. It is a very blunt tool that works and may be the only answer. Alain Jorion, Gisborne OWENGA'S STABLE? Dear Sir Your article relating to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act 1990 in the last issue, which summarised their raison d'etre as: "to determine the circumstances and causes of accidents and incidents, with a view to avoiding (sic) similar occurrences in the future, rather than ascribe blame to any person", was indeed timely. In late April 2012 TAIC approached Maritime New Zealand to pre-warn them of promulgation through mass media on May 8, of the inherent stability issues underpinning the capsize and sinking of the crayfish vessel Easy Rider off Saddle Point, Stewart Island on March 15. This crucial forewarning is at least a year prior to releasing their final report into the sinking. On TV1 news that night what disturbed me as a naval architect, was the reaction by Colin Topi, who lost his cousin Shane Topi in a sister vessel to his own boat, and who stated that he thought the latest findings by TAIC were unfounded. One can get the impression, whether real or imagined, that the skipper of 4 Professional Skipper July/August 2012 any Owenga design vessel, of which there were at least nine, is thus immune from prudent loading of his vessel simply because it was a "hull design issue". When these craft were built in the 1970's under Marine Department Rules, just one of the class would have had its stability checked by means of an inclining experiment, and one suspects the follow-on vessels were audited by way of a "significant difference" check only. I agree with TAIC spokesman Captain Burfoot when he advised the maritime community that stability, "limitations would have been known in the past, but the details may have been lost as ships changed hands over the years". Accordingly, my rhetorical question must be "how many other class vessels are operating in our littoral waters, but without carrying the necessary basic stability information?" M. Laurence Withy, CEng, MRINA, Wellington BEWARE THE TAXMAN Dear Sir The article a couple of issues ago by Mike Pignéguy in regards to the changes in tax laws for small operators, is a crock of turds. Who have the IRD been talking to? And why have they not consulted with the charter boats themselves? I know two corporate boats who do less than 60 days a year and as such will no longer qualify. And yet both of these companies have put their boats into SSM to comply with the rules of taking out clients, and both employ me when required for this commercial activity, which between them is about 70 to 80 days a year. Someone needs to tell those IRD wankers to pull their heads in because both boats are going to go out of survey and become pleasure boats. The owners will still continue to take out clients as friends but they wont be paying MSA and SSM fees and they wont be paying me #@$%&!@!?! What's the MTA got to say about this lot? I would suggest that most charter boats would struggle to do 62 days a year in these depressed times. Even Smithy up north is struggling. Come on Keith you have to do something about this crap. G Hoyle, Auckland I note your valid concerns and must say I totally agree. In fact it gets worse when one considers this may effect a third of our inshore fleet under 15m, say some 400 vessels. I also note that you ask what is the MTA doing about it? Probably nothing. Because the majority of these small operators (romantics) are not financial members of the MTA and as such do not pay towards the costs of the benefits gained by the MTA. Therein lies the challenge Ed… GREAT STORIES! Dear Sir I have been a subscriber to the Professional Skipper magazine for some time now and have filed away all the copies I have received. I so look forward to each copy as it comes in. The magazine seems to cover all the things to do with boating and maritime things that so interest me in my retirement. I have been interested in boats and the sea since I was 7 years old, having spent all my summer school holidays for 5 years in the 2 storey flats in the middle of Opua beach, with my uncle and auntie in the Bay of Islands. Having been a Bay of Islands club deep sea fisherman since the early '60's I went to Hawaii in 1967 and successfully fished in the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. After this trip I was one of the early ones to introduce lure fishing to New Zealand. Today this is the norm for deep sea game fishing.