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/91629
NEWS from proven sustainable sources. Loch Duart was the fi rst salmon farm in the world to achieve Freedom Food approval, was the national winner of the Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland Award in 2005 and the fi rst Gold Award winner of 'Best Food' in The Daily Telegraph/Sainsbury's 'Taste of Britain' Awards in 2006. The company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2008 and is an Oceans 25 Ambassador of the Marine Conservation Society, underlining the company's commitment to MCS's vision of clean, clear sustainable fi sheries and protection of wildlife. FISHING FOR A BETTER SALMON FARM New Zealand King Salmon met with key stakeholders in Waikawa on September 10 to work on the identifi ed areas for development. NZ King Salmon general manager of aquaculture Mark Preece says. "An example might be how we can further improve our harvesting process – not just in commercial terms but also in achieving a stress-free harvest for the fi sh. The less the stress, the better the quality of the fi llets." He says the prototyping sessions are ongoing and any resulting innovations will be introduced only after exhaustive modelling and testing. Community input into the sessions is welcomed. Community members can register their interest in taking part in the next session by emailing Sue Stevens at Sue.Stevens@kingsalmon.co.nz EEL FISHING BAN A report outlining the decline of the longfi n eel has prompted a call for a temporary ban on commercial eeling in Hawke's Bay until a long term plan is formed to manage what is becoming a vanishing fi shery. Hawke's Bay Regional Council has received a report recommending support for a temporary ban on commercial eeling in areas preferred by the longfi n eel. It also recommended there should be areas designated for customary fi shing only, such as those imposed on the Whakaki Lagoon and Poukawa basins, as well as programmes to improve the understanding of eel habitats and population numbers in the region. The report comes after a presentation from staff showing the decline of the endemic longfi n eel. Maori Committee chairman Mike Mohi says, "It ties in with our concerns about the state of our waterways in Hawke's Bay. Tuna (eels) are an important part of that and are what you would call ecological indicators, marking the health of our streams. " Eels fi shed for tangi and other traditional events on the marae are becoming a delicacy simply because there were fewer numbers now. "It's still very popular but now you just see it offered in lesser quantities because it's so rare." NEW FACTORY JOBS FOR TIMARU Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon Limited has commissioned the building of a new $6m salmon-processing factory in Timaru, to be opened in April 2013. CEO Geoff Matthews said, "The new factory will be commissioned in stages initially bringing 35 new jobs to Timaru and a further 40 jobs to follow with a smoke house being commissioned in three to four years time. key international markets of Australia, Asia, Europe and United States. The new plant has been designed to process, at full capacity, 3,500 metric tonnes of harvested fi sh, and to be as fl exible as possible to ensure the company can take advantage of changes in markets needs. The council and business community's willingness to engage with Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon assisted greatly in the decision to build in Timaru. ALGAE SOLD ON TRADE ME A Christchurch university student pleaded guilty to seven charges under the Biosecurity Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act on October 3. Maxwell imported marimo moss balls and sold some online. They are an aggressive algae used in the northern hemisphere to clean fi sh tanks but would have caused a disaster on the scale of didymo had they got into New Zealand's waterways. The moss balls are an absolutely prohibited import. The Ministry of Primary Industries told the Christchurch District Court the Salmon processing factory at Timaru The site is being built in Sheffi eld Street by Chris Broadhead of Chris Broadhead Building Ltd. Matthews said, Timaru was chosen because, "the economics of basing a plant in Timaru, coupled with a skilled stable workforce." MCAS is in the middle of a $20 million dollar capital expansion to vertically integrate the company. "We see the commissioning of our own factory as a critical component of becoming masters of our own destiny, and to obtaining the best possible price for our product overseas," says Matthews. Currently 80 percent of MCAS's export production has secondary processing in Indonesia. "Commissioning the plant is therefore a vote of confi dence in a New Zealand workforce." Geoff Matthews says the Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon's farm is GAA BAP certifi ed and the plant will need to be export certifi ed to the highest standards to be able to export to the 14 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 consequences of the moss balls being released "could have been utterly catastrophic and could still be catastrophic". There are concerns Maxwell may have tipped her fi sh tank water down her household drain which runs into the Avon River. Authorities are asking the public to look out for signs of any suspicious algae. If only one fi lament has reached the river or the Avon-Heathcote Estuary it could cause an outbreak that would be diffi cult to control. Judge Jane Farish ruled out a discharge without conviction and told Maxwell she was being over-emotive in saying the offending on her record would condemn her to life as a cleaner or shop assistant. She had continued with her activities even after a warning from the ministry. The court was told that Maxwell had a university qualifi cation that included biosecurity. She is now working part- time and continuing to study.