by Steffan Browning
It’s been a busy week. Before we get to comment about the Budget this afternoon I thought I would comment on the wonderful news regarding foreign charter vessels. It is great the government is phasing out FCVs and requiring them to be reflagged to New Zealand. Four years cannot come soon enough for workers suffering slave like conditions.
Observer coverage being extended to all FCVs in the interim is a good move but one observer is not enough – everyone must sleep at some point. Having multiple observers on all significant fishing vessels would be a much better option to ensure a safe workplace, good fishing practice and the sustainability of our fisheries.
Published in Economy, Work, & Welfare | Environment & Resource Management by Steffan Browning on Thu, May 24th, 2012
More posts by Steffan Browning | more about Steffan Browning
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
Loading...
I wish I shared your confidence that this will result in better treatment of crews, and better economic and sustainability outcomes, but I was a MaF Observer for three years and an industry observer for another three. Most of the wrong doing I observed – fisheries abuses, quota fraud, bird and sealion kills, assaults and rapes, a mutiny, happened on the reflagged so-called chartered vessels, as opposed to ‘foreign licensed’ vessels.
So far as I can see,the only change will be that government has pushed the issue out past the election with no commitment to significant reform.
The use of cheap foreign labour in this industry not only reduced the availability of work to New Zealanders, it changed the focus of the industry from small vessels employing high value skilled workers producing a specialised product model to a low end model based on large vessels mass producing low value products like fillet block and fishmeal.
We can have little faith in reform when both Labour and National colluded with industry in the creation of this backward looking industry model, and have only now begun to respond, and that superficially, due to consumer pressure from the US.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)