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WATERFRONT BUSINESS In brief… K-Cee search called off The chance of finding the remains of two Te Anau fishermen, Bruce Gordon (42) and Darren Allen (37) are fading. The men and their boat K-Cee, disappeared on April 30 in Doubtful Sound. The bow of the boat was found near Rocky Point the following day but searches by Police, Search and Rescue, and friends and family, of the seabed and shoreline, have revealed few clues. Three friends of the men, paua divers Doug Fox, Rob Emitt and Murray Braven, found the remains of the K-Cee's wheelhouse 12 days after the boat went missing. The wheelhouse showed evidence of a catastrophic event having happened in the first 24 hours such as a big wave that may have smashed the boat on rocks and dragged it along the seafloor. The police dive team were put on standby awaiting a break in the weather, but an extended stretch of bad weather followed and the dive team were called away to a helicopter crash before they could investigate the site. It is now thought that there is little chance of finding evidence of either the boat or the men and the search has been called off. NZ Cadet Receives Award Congratulations go to Holland America Line Cadet Samantha Mildon, shown here collecting the DNV award at the New Zealand maritime school this week. The award recognises the student with the best overall performance both academically and performance onboard. Samantha has had her first sea phase onboard the MS Ryndam last year and is looking forward to her next assignment in August. Presenting the award is Paul Harper, Head of Engineering at NZ Maritime School. Songbirds at the heart of Auckland City A MILESTONE HAS been achieved with the release of protected Whitehead (pōpokotea) on two pest-free islands in the heart of Auckland. Whiteheads disappeared from the Auckland mainland in the 1880s, driven out by rats, stoats and the loss of native forest. They are now being restored to pest free islands. 30 whiteheads were released on Motutapu, and 20 on Motuihe Island on Sunday June 17, meaning that these birds are now just 30 minutes by ferry from downtown Auckland. The Department of Conservation, in partnership with the Motuihe Trust, the Motutapu Restoration Trust, and in consultation with local iwi, helped capture the 20 whiteheads on pest free Little Barrier Island (Hauturu), where they were held in temporary aviaries, then placed in transport boxes and flown to Motuihe and Motutapu islands by helicopter. Volunteers from the Motuihe Trust have planted forest on Motuihe, a former gulf islands farm. The Whiteheads are a welcome addition to the tuatara, little spotted kiwi, kakariki, bellbirds, tīeke or saddleback, and other native wildlife, that have been released on to Motuihe since it became pest free in 2005. Rangitoto and Motutapu are now home to tīeke, takahē, shore plover and two freshwater native species with declining populations: koura (freshwater crayfish), and red fin bullies, have been released on Motutapu. Tīeke were once almost completely wiped out by ship rats, stoats and feral cats. In 1964 the population of North Island tīeke had been reduced to 500 living on Hen Island in Northland. Today, North Island tīeke live on 15 islands. 10 Tīeke captured on Little Barrier at the same time as the whiteheads were released on Rangitoto, and 10 on Motutapu. They join others originally from Tiritiri Matangi. The Tiritiri tīeke began producing chicks just 10 weeks after their release. It is hoped that the new arrivals from Little Barrier will help increase genetic diversity DoC Auckland Area manager Jonathan Miles says creating a genetically robust, self-sustaining tīeke population on Rangitoto and Motutapu is DoC's latest step in securing the future of these noted songbirds: "Having removed the animal pests we're now able to use these islands to bring our unique wildlife to the heart of our largest city." CHINESE FISHERMEN HEAD MILITARY INCURSION IN PHILIPPINES AT LEAST 10 Chinese fishing vessels escorted by warships have anchored off the Philippine-occupied island of Pag-Asa in the contested Spratlys area, according to a highly placed source in the military. Two frigates of the People's Liberation Army and several armed maritime vessels are among the large flotilla of Chinese vessels that have crowded the waters separating the eastern side of Pag-Asa Island and the Vietnamese-occupied island of Southwest Cay. The armed fishing fleet arrived in the area on July 24, and was estimated to be some five nm from Pag-Asa. It was clearly observed from the Philippine-occupied island, which is guarded by a small contingent of naval personnel. Pag-Asa Island, with a land area of 32.7 hectares, has been occupied by the Philippines since the early 1970s and is the seat of government of the country's smallest municipality of Kalayaan. Kalayaan Mayor Eugenio Bitoonon said the municipal government of Kalayaan was more concerned about the "illegal fishing" activities of the Chinese fleet. "They are there not primarily to fish. We think they are mainly engaged in coral mining, which is a more lucrative business in Hainan." 44 Professional Skipper September/October 2012