Key promises fishing action
May 22nd, 2012 at 1:00 pm by David FarrarDanya Levy reports:
Prime Minister John Key says the Government will address alleged abuse on foreign fishing vessels despite the South Korean government sending a delegation to New Zealand to investigate the claims.
Last year all 32 Indonesian crew on the Korean Oyang 75 walked off the fishing vessel alleging sexual and physical abuse.
A New Zealand joint ministerial inquiry earlier this year found Korean fishing charters were damaging New Zealand’s international reputation.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea launched an investigation into the alleged abuse and visited New Zealand to investigate.
It said last week there was a “possibility” a Korean crew member on Oyang 75 sexually abused six Indonesians.
The Prime Minister’s office this morning confirmed a delegation of South Korean investigators would be visiting New Zealand.
Key said there would be a resolution to problems aboard foreign fishing vessels “irrelevant of what the Koreans do”.
“The Government’s going to address the issue,” he told Radio Live.
There had been problems with foreign fishing charters for “a very long time”.
“We want to ensure people who operate in the New Zealand environment whether it’s on the sea or on the land, abide by our laws.”
A welcome pledge. It has been obvious that the agreements the (mainly Korean) FCVs sign up to is not enforced.
The scale of the abuses that occur on some of the FCVs is horrific. We’re talking near slavery and rape.
Related posts:
- Foreign Crewed Fishing Vessels
- A principled decision
- More abuses at sea
- Communists keep close watch on Key
May 22nd, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Awesome.
Vote:Maybe a Maori or two will get a job fishing for Iwi quota now?
May 22nd, 2012 at 1:28 pm
That was quick!
Vote:http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6965223/Foreign-flagged-fishing-boats-to-be-banned
May 22nd, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Possibly Colville, more likely means that Talleys end up with even more control of the fishing industry – you didnt think they were promoting this policy for the good of the foreign workers did you?
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Maori have always had the best of opportunity to perform the fishing, as they have been given the quota for some time. Maori chose not to do the actual fishing because they saw they could get more money for less effort by contracting the quota out to flag of convenience operators. Shame its taking 4 years to take effect. Rampant abuse of the fishing stocks – as well as the fishing crew – is sure to get worse in those 4 years.
Now Maori will have to stump up some of those treaty compensation funds to buy fishing vessels, crew them under NZ labour law, and get out there and do the work themselves.
One thing is certain: the price of fish is going up.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 1:42 pm
The point has been well made that when the Fisheries Commision used Maori quota to fish on behalf of all Maori there was some hope of a NZ based fleet. But, under pressure, the quota was divided up amongst tribes, few of which have the wit or the will (or the cash) to set up a fishing venture. So tribes will be forced to lease quota to Talleys, or Sanfords or small operators. I cannot see Maori liking these new rules one bit.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 1:42 pm
rouppe, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Trout has it – the capital cost of these deepsea vessels are huge sp you need a lot of quota to make them worth it. It won’t affect inshore quota to the same degree as there are still a lot of smaller boats in the fleet. The only ones with the big deepsea vessels are those that Trout names, plus perhaps if they haven’t bailed out of that area too, Sealord which is owned by the same said groups that Muzza and rouppe seem to have an issue with.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 1:48 pm
rouppe, SFA of the fish caught by foreign flag charter vessels ever sees the shelf of a NZ shop so I don’t think it will have any effect on the price of Friday nights shark-n-tatties
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 2:08 pm
It cant be hard to lease a boat can it? why would Iwi need to buy?
Pretty much all the supermarket fish is (apart from hoki?) caught by inshore small boat longliners isnt it?
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 2:11 pm
It doesn’t stop these vessels from changing from being Korean flagged to NZ flagged, it means that NZ can enforce NZed law to these ships.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Foreign charter vessels can still be used, under a lease arrangement, just they have to be NZ flagged, and all NZ laws apply to them.
No different to what Air NZ does with some of its planes, it doesn’t own them, it leases them from one of the big leasing companies. In fact it asks some of the leasing companies to buy certain aircraft, so it can lease it from them.
So all the tribes could get together and pool their money and buy some ships, or leases and then lease them to the fishing companies, or other NZ’ers could buy the ships, and lease them to the fishing companies.
Fish will go up in price, but not by much, given that anyone can go and cast a line out in the sea, and catch a feed of fish with not much skill. But in the short term their may be an increase in fish cost due to some local fishermen switching where they fish to deeper waters that previously have been fished by FCV’s.
Doesn’t mean more NZ’ers or maori will go fishing either, crew can still be brought in, and quota could be sold to offshore owners.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Some people on here need to do some research before they slander people or groups.
spk18@ 1.31pm –Talleys have promoted or pushed the idea of “New Zealandisation” of the fishing fleeet since the the 1980′s soon after quota was introduced. They have put their ” money where their mouth is ” on the issue.
“Control” in the fishing industry is not through owning boats but through quota ownership.
A number of iwi groups have formed quite successful business partnerships to use the quota they have access to.
Sealord is 50% owned by Maori . Sealord uses a mixture of their own boats and foreign owned boats to catch their fish.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 2:28 pm
About time!!!
Winston Peters would like this too. He has some good ideas around NZ fisheries.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Kia Ora
Yes wreck1080, New Zealand First does indeed support it. Richard Prosser, NZ First spokesperson for Fisheries applauded it this afternoon.
I am not a National supporter, but credit due where credit is due.
The abuse of crews and the dumping of fish has gone on for too long, so this is definitely welcome news.
Rob
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Good.
Now they need to ban battery farmed pork from Australia.
It’s ridiculous that we (quite rightly) intend to phase out local battery pig farming without banning the importation of battery farmed pork.
The crackling just isn’t the same.
Vote:May 22nd, 2012 at 7:25 pm
geo_kiwi
Will Winston First be hosting a celebratory dinner at Kermadec?
Don’t forget the receipts.
Vote:May 23rd, 2012 at 11:56 am
@Ross12 (117) at 2:27 pm – you need to learn the definition of slander, truth is effectively one defence. When they started advocating the policy is totally irrelevant; the intention for it was what I was getting at – it suits their business for this policy to come into place. They are not a company that worries about the plight of overseas workers any more than they do about the ones they have here.
Vote: