Welcome to Fishing and Aquaculture Week!

After a very lengthy dormant period, it is a pleasure to see strong signs of revival in the fishing and aquaculture boat sectors. It is even more pleasing to see that so many of the new boats are innovative, well-built, environmentally sound, versatile and safe.

Of course, that largely applies to Western Europe, Australasia, Scandinavia and Canada.

Avid readers of Baird Maritime would, like me, be excited by the increasing numbers of impressive new boats that we have reviewed here. I feel sure there are many more to come. I only wish we would see a few more coming from countries other than those mentioned above. Too much of the global fleet is old, inefficient, uneconomical, polluting and unsafe.

Trawling • Longlining • Seining • Potting • Aquaculture • Mariculture

Remember to come back every day to see the latest news, opinion and vessel reviews!

Vessel Reviews:

• Vanguard – New mussel harvester for New Zealand is packed full of innovations
• Crystal Sea – English trawler with unique deck machinery package
• Atlantic – First purpose-built, combined longliner/Danish seiner

Features and Opinion:

COLUMN | The International Labour Organisation’s South East Asia fisheries project

– “C188…is looking like a good place to start a realistic discussion between fishermen, vessel owners, and their national regulators.”

– by Alan Haig-Brown, marine writer and photographer

FEATURE | On the Mekong – Khon Pi rapids saved, for now

– “It will be some considerable time before detailed information on its functions, including the much-heralded fish passes designed to facilitate migrant fish passing around the dam, will be available.”

FEATURE | Damen to convert platform supply vessel to fish feed carrier

– “From the PSV, all the manoeuvring capacity is maintained, as well as the benefits of a diesel electric propulsion system. Furthermore, the accommodation and superstructure is larger than what you would normally see in this trade which I think the crew will benefit from.”

– by Nelson E Dela Cruz

FEATURE | Building knowledge in China

– When Australian shark fishermen Jamie Papas and his father, Jim, decided to invest in a new fishing boat, they took the bold step of having it purpose-built in China – and then sailed it all the way back to Australia.

– by Simon Enticknap

News and Gear:

• GEAR | Zenith Engineering supplies genset to new mussel harvester
• Seven missing after fishing boat, cargo ship collide in East China Sea
• Nobel Brothers to build crab boat for Aqua-Invest
• Search called off for missing Namibian trawler captain
• Piriou delivers trawler to Brittany fisherman
• FEATURE | Mussel reef restoration project in the Hauraki Gulf, NZ

Recent Important Features:

COLUMN | Modified and made-to-fit [Fishing for a Living]

– “Regulators try to plug loopholes, but mariners are, by nature, an inventive lot”

– by Alan Haig-Brown, marine writer and photographer

COLUMN | Who will catch the fish? [Fishing for a Living]

– “Economists, interested in the economies of scale, are causing us to manage to the wrong end.”

– by Alan Haig-Brown, marine writer and photographer

Remember to come back every day to see the latest news, opinion and vessel reviews!

Call for content!

Any news or views about the global commercial fishing and aquaculture industries? Send it through to [email protected] ASAP (between now and March 13), so we can add it to this current edition of Fishing and Aquaculture Week!

We are after:

• Vessels – Orders, new deliveries, under construction
• Gear – Latest innovations and technology in the fishing/aquaculture sectors
• Interviews – Owners, operators, processors, co-ops, distributors etc.
• Reminiscences – Do you have any exciting, amusing or downright dangerous anecdotes from your time in the fishing world? (example here)
• Other – Any other relevant news

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