Slave fishing – NZ’s shame

13 comments on “Slave fishing – NZ’s shame ”

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1. Uturn 1

   25 October 2011 at 7:11 am

   Talleys style of comment is a little too close to a NZ first Policy release, or an Orewa Speech. Greed and self interest are not confined a race. The arrangement implied is that Talleys, or a subsidiary, will hire out boats to “the maori”, but not “those Asian devils”. Once again it’s captain whitey at top, parasitical off the worker, who insists maori leadership will never be competent owing to a race specific greed. The article jostles the reader into thinking “maori” (whoever they are) need saving by rich whitey – the only hope. To top it off, anyone who disagrees is guilty of an environmental/resource crime.

   There might be a problem with FCV. People may be unemployed. There may be provincial solutions to that. But until a government is in power that recognises a balance between workers and employers/corporates, all that will happen is a certain group of people will become the slaves on board the vessels regardless of the leasing plan.

   Rich white men telling other races what to think and do is one of those things that tends to drive people a bit furious.
2. millsy 2

   25 October 2011 at 7:44 am

   Boycott Sealord — buy Talley’s — that sounds like a good idea.

   FCV’s rob New Zealand of an entire industry, for example our ship building industry would be better put to use building fishing boats, rather than yachts for the superrich.
   • Colonial Viper 2.1

     25 October 2011 at 7:54 am

     Boycott Sealord — buy Talley’s — that sounds like a good idea.

     We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel when this is actually a justifiable idea.

     Government must step in as the private sector refuses to do what is right.
3. KJT 3

   25 October 2011 at 9:07 am

   The fishing industry is just a microcosm of the entire seafaring industry.

   We allow fishing vessels and overseas ships with little better than slave labour on our coast.

   Why don’t we just sack all New Zealanders and replace them with immigrants who will work for next to nothing and will do anything the employer says, no matter how unreasonable, to keep their residency. Wait. We do.

   http://kjt-kt.blogspot.com/2011/10/rena-neo-liberal-failure.html
   “Tired, overstressed, low paid crews, cheaply built and maintained ships, inadequate or ignored regulation and excessive workloads are the norm at sea.
   Flags of convenience exist entirely so that shipping companies, and shippers, can reduce the costs: of corporate and income taxes, safety standards, operating standards, crew conditions and wages and build standards of shipping”.

   Maori in Northland are wondering when they are going to see the benefit of treaty settlements, in jobs and a future for their children.
4. aerobubble 4

   25 October 2011 at 9:10 am

   Management remuniration. A cheap high
   throughput super market wants to attract
   car buyers because they spend more, carry
   more away at each visit. Why? Well because
   their cheap customer retention isn’t a
   problem and managers are paid bonus on
   getting sales up. So what is the unseen
   consequence? Well cyclists, managers
   who are paid to get customers buying more
   loath cyclists because they can’t
   carry anymore than they can carry on a bike.
   So how does the manager, against the good
   of investor shareholding, help themself?
   Well they make it hard for cyclists, they
   give petrol coupons to car drivers, they
   provide poor cycle locking areas that
   make those with back pain bend over, those
   who fear their bike being stolen no
   confidence there is a Security Camera around,
   and worse, they put the bike rack out of
   the way where women cyclists could easily be
   pulled into the back of a van. So how do
   managers know this, well a good manager would
   measure the bike use of the bike rack, have
   women ever used the place? Do people wince as
   they try to lock up? Are cyclists locking up
   elsewhere? But where’s the incentive, the
   manager is remunirate for upsizing their
   customer spend, not on customer service.
   Then add to the mix the contractor who
   tells customers off, like the first rule of
   customer service is the customer is always
   right (esp. when they are wrong).
   Customer service is a direct product of the
   way managers are remunirated.

   We get slaves because our parliament chooses
   to allow managements to remunirate themselves
   freely at market dictates.
5. Afewknowthetruth 5

   25 October 2011 at 10:07 am

   Nearly everyone forgets the biggest slaves of all: the ENERGY SLAVES.

   One diesel engine on a fishing boat could easily have the energy equvalance of 1,000 people. A large diesel engine could easily have an energy conversion rate (chemical to movement) equivalent to 10,000 people.

   We are now post peak oil, which means that mechanised fish harvesting has a very short future. Depending on how quickly the financial system unravels, fuel could become effectively unaffordable within three or four years. There was a ‘trail run’ for collapse of the fishing industry in 2008 (when oil reached US $147 a barrel), when fishermen declared it was not worth leaving port because they could not be certain they would cover the cost of fuel with any fish they might catch. Brent oil is $112 a barrel today, up substantially from what it was at the start of the year and five times what it was at tthe start of the decade, but down a bit from the price that demolishes the global economic system.

   We cannot be certain exactly how this will play out but the final outcome is fairly certain: most people will not be able to afford to eat fish a decade from now.

   The other apsect worth mentioning is that ships tend to use the crappiest oil available because it is the cheapest. That means the pollution coming from ships tends to be very high in sulphur dioxide and other ‘nasties’ -the out of sight, out of mind mentality that prevails amongst industrial humans.
   • McFlock 5.1

     25 October 2011 at 12:41 pm

     Dip in production, then back to canvas.
     • KJT 5.1.1

       25 October 2011 at 4:36 pm

       “…most people will not be able to afford to eat fish a decade from now”.

       Most! people cannot afford to eat fish now.
       $23 per kilo and up.
       • millsy 5.1.1.1

         25 October 2011 at 7:27 pm

         Not to mention the fact that the main fish type avalible in NZ is the low quality fish finger staple of hoki.
   • Draco T Bastard 5.2

     25 October 2011 at 3:36 pm

     …most people will not be able to afford to eat fish a decade from now.

     I’d be thankful as we need to stop fishing so that our seas can recuperate but I suspect that our seas will still be being raped for the rich foreigners. The people who won’t be able to afford to eat our fish will be ourselves.
6. Cloaca 6

   25 October 2011 at 2:00 pm

   Where are the Quota Holders in this debacle – running for cover ?
   Why don’t they lease/charter vessels, teach their own crews how to operate.
   They don’t have to buy, which is their argument when they can charter/lease.
   They can then teach how to man a ship and fish.
   With Maori unemployment being needlessly high here they could do something for themselves.
   Under The Waitangi settlements there is more than sufficient funds to undertake this.
7. Herodotus 7

   25 October 2011 at 4:05 pm

   When I was aware of this in July this year, I asked a union official in Scotland how they do it – Work within their teritorial waters then you are under local laws and regulations, all fisherman pay taxes, comply to Health and safety etc. Why not the same here? They are working in NZ- why should fishing bve different to any other industry
8. QoT 8

   25 October 2011 at 7:19 pm

   Talley’s also pay their women workers less and Andrew Talley thinks “some jobs are bloke jobs”, so if there’s a non-Sealord, non-Talleys option in your supermarket, pick that.

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