By Les Watkins
This is the peak period for harvesting crayfish but the oil disaster has killed the entire operation for many fishermen in the Bay of Plenty.
They are barred from the vast exclusion zone which includes 90 pe cent of the nearby crayfish breeding territory.
“The season started slowly this year and November is the make or break month so this could not have happened at a worse time,” says BoP Commercial Fisherman’s Association president Brian Kiddie.
“Some are facing the prospect of going bust,”
The original exclusion zone, which was greatly expanded in mid October, was centred on Motiti Island and extended from Tauranga to Matata and out 45km.
It was established to reassure buyers that no tainted fish had been caught in the area polluted by oil from the 47,000-tonne box ship Rena which broke up after hitting the Astrolabe Reef on October 5.
Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley explained that it was also intended to help save other vessels from being damaged by any of the 1,386 containers aboard the Rena.
The wreck has brought local fishermen a double problem. In addition to having their operating areas restricted, they have to contend with the perception that their catches might be contaminated.
“The domestic and overseas markets are on tenterhooks about that possibility – very twitchy indeed,” says Mr Kiddie.
“For instance, one of our guys had perfectly-clean octopus rejected right away at the Auckland market because the black ink it squirts out was mistaken for oil. That wouldn’t have happened before this affair.”
Many BoP fishermen are now travelling to other areas for their catches.
“And, of course, this can add significantly to the cost,” says Mr Kiddie. “Operators can easily burn up an extra $500 of fuel before getting near to catching their first fish.”
About 50 commercial fishing vessels and four fish- processing factories operate out of Tauranga and local Chamber of Commerce chief executive Max Mason puts the industry’s annual contribution to the area’s economy at $34 million.
