24 | FISHERIES SECTOR Independent Fisheries Fuel costs, labour a challenge from page 22 Crew recruitment is proving a challenge for IFL. Unfortunately, industry participants can’t find enough qualified crew for inshore and deepsea vessels, hence we are seeing vessels starting to tie up,” says IFL Managing Director Mark Allison. Ph. 03 328 8105 E. enquiries@lytteng.co.nz W. www.lytteng.co.nz Cuningham Taylor House “The cost of fuel alone has gone up in excess of US$1,000 a tonne in 12 months and everything that we need to provision the boats is going up too. On top of that, wage costs have increased significantly as well.” In New Zealand, fishing vessels operate differently depending on catch method, species being caught and operational procedures. The seagoing roles of a crew member on a 30-metre inshore trawler or long-liner can be significantly different to a mid-size factory filleting trawler. “Conversely seagoing roles on vessels such as ours producing whole or headed and gutted fish can require quite different roles. The ‘one size fits all approach’ for employment at sea is not appropriate as there is a vast difference in how vessels operate against the value of the resources landed by them.” Labour shortages for skilled and qualified seagoing crew is an ongoing challenge. In conjunction with Government, the fishing industry is working to encourage competent drug free New Zealanders to take up sea going roles. “Unfortunately, industry participants can’t find enough qualified crew for inshore and deepsea vessels, hence we are seeing vessels starting to tie up. “Life at sea is not for everyone and it is a select group of people that have that skill.” The crew recruitment problem has steadily worsened over the past 20 years or more – not just on-board fishing vessels, but also in land-based roles. “There is no quick fix. I strongly believe that change needs to start with the education system so that young New Zealanders clearly understand protection methods, and the sacrifices that Industry, Iwi and Government constantly take to protect our oceans and resources for the future of all New Zealand. We need sound decisions based on factual evidence that allow the industry to prosper so we can continue to provide more jobs for New Zealanders on land. “Without the ability to bring in foreign crews economically to NZ, many vessels will cease to operate resulting in many New Zealanders’ jobs across various industries on land being lost, along with thousands of tonnes of iwi quota not being able to be caught.”
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