Seabird Smart winners are fishing's sustainable future

Seabird Smart winners are fishing's sustainable future

"The winners of this year’s Seabird Smart awards are the sustainable future of New Zealand fishing", says Bill Mansfield, the Chair of the Southern Seabird Solutions Trust.

The Awards were announced by the Minister of Conservation Hon. Maggie Barry ONZM during an event at Parliament (6.30pm, Tuesday 17 November).

“New Zealand is known as the seabird capital of the world. As the breeding grounds for a third of the world’s seabirds species, we have an international responsibility to ensure their long-term survival,” says Bill Mansfield.

“Each of these four men is an environmental champion, and they are leading the way in reinforcing the importance of seabird smart fishing practices amongst the fishing industry. Their passion and actions have positively affected the attitudes and behaviour of others in their fleets. We want to recognise them and thank them for their vision and their work.

“Both the main winners Tom Searle of Leigh Fisheries and Mike Black of Talley’s have influenced the behaviour of a whole fishing fleet and through their leadership have made a significant contribution to seabird conservation.

Two special awards were given this year. “As a fisher, Wayne Dreadon of Whitianga has championed fishers working collaboratively with government and environmental groups, and Jamie Williamson, a fisheries observer, has given fishers a new appreciation of the seabirds they see every day around their vessels.”

The Seabird Smart Awards are supported and sponsored by Sealord Group, Deepwater Group, Ministry for Primary Industries, Fisheries Inshore New Zealand, Aotearoa Fisheries, Harbour Holdings Ltd and the Federation of Commercial Fishermen. The Awards are run by the Southern Seabird Solutions Trust and held every second year.

THE WINNERS

The joint winners of the 2015 Seabird Smart Awards are Tom Searle from Leigh Fisheries and Mike Black from Talley’s.

Tom Searle

Tom is Operations Manager for Leigh Fisheries. Through Tom’s efforts, Leigh Fisheries has ensured almost every longline skipper they do business with has attended a Seabird Smart Training workshop. He has also helped the Ministry for Primary Industries/Department of Conservation jointly funded Liaison officers prepare Seabird Risk management Plans for each vessel.

Tom has helped coordinate trips for fishermen to the black petrel colony on Great Barrier Island/Aotea and is actively working to ensure fishing takes place in a way that, in his own words “ensures these majestic birds are protected for the few months they are in the Gulf raising their chicks.”

Mike Black

Mike is Depot Supervisor for Talleys in Bluff. He manages 20 vessels from Moeraki to Jackson Bay. When the Southern Inshore Fisheries Management Company enlisted his help in rolling out Seabird Risk Management Plans for inshore trawlers, he had it done within two months.

Mike grew up in a household where conservation and fishing went hand in hand. He believes looking after seabirds is the right thing to do and he is using his influence to achieve this. Mike and his dad are also passionate about good rubbish management on vessels and took part in the Fiordland beach clean up this year.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS

This year, in addition to the main award, the Southern Seabird Solutions Trust has included a Special Recognition award and a Government fisheries observer award.

Special Recognition Award – Wayne Dreadon

As a snapper fisherman based out of Whitianga, Wayne has set a high standard in seabird mitigation and used his engineering skills to explore potential new mitigation ideas.

Wayne believes that accurate information on seabird captures helps everyone, and in his role as Vice President of the Whitianga/Coromandel Peninsular Fishermen’s Association, he has encouraged local fishers to get behind the government’s observer programme. Wayne is also encouraging local charter operators to get involved in Seabird Smart Fishing workshops. He has visited the black petrel/taiko colony on Great Barrier Island.

Government Observer Award – Jamie Williamson

Some fisheries observers have particular interests or specialist knowledge, and inevitably their interest rubs off on the skippers and crew. This has most definitely been the case with Jamie, who is based near Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula. Jamie is passionate about seabirds and he has enthused scores of fishermen by sharing his knowledge. Jamie’s email address is ‘thebirdman’ – a nickname he has picked up from fishermen he has been to sea with. Jamie was nominated for the award by several commercial fishermen.

ABOUT THE TRUST

The Southern Seabird Solutions Trust is an alliance bringing together representatives from the seafood industry, New Zealand government, WWF-New Zealand, Te Ohu Kaimoana and recreational anglers. Trust supporters also include environmental groups, eco-tourism operators, fishing gear retailers and seabird ecologists.

Key activities of the Trust are:

• Running Seabird Smart training workshops for skippers and crew

• Encouraging fishing companies to ensure Seabird Risk Management Plans are on board all vessels

• Supporting the development of new innovations

• Running awareness activities such as taking fishers to seabird breeding colonies and attending recreational fishing events.

Southern Seabird Solutions Trust is financially supported by Seafood New Zealand, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Department of Conservation, WWF-New Zealand and Te Ohu Kaimoana.

ENDS

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