22nd November 2009

During the last month we have all been busy with preparations for the 2009-10 Ross Sea Toothfish season.

It all starts in Hobart where CCAMLR (Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) members gather every year. Scientists and government officials from around the world convene to set and agree on sustainable catch allocations for all fishing within the CCAMLR jurisdiction. This includes area 88.1 and 88.2 which we regard as our Ross Sea fishery.

For us, the outcome was great….. Once again, all four New Zealand vessels were allocated licenses and the scientists have recommended a slight increase for the total allowable Toothfish catch for the coming season. But, there are a few more regulations and research requirements attached to our permit conditions this season.

The CCAMLR round of negotiations is followed by another meeting in Wellington just before we sail for the Ross Sea. This time, representatives from MFAT (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade), MFISH (Ministry of Fisheries), the Observer Program, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmosphere), SEAFIC (Seafood Industry Council), RCCNZ (Rescue Coordination Centre NZ), LINZ (Land Information NZ) and our team from the ITC (Industry Toothfish Committee) all get together to make sure everyone is up to speed with the latest research and permit requirements. Every year the number of participants to this meeting increases, this time there were around 43 people attending and everyone was involved in some way with the Ross Sea Toothfish Fishery.

Francois lining up with people from the Observer program, NIWA, Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Fishery for lunch.

Jeff (Skipper of Janas for Sealord), Pete (Skipper of San Aotea II), Me, Greg (Sanford Deep Water Fleet manager), Trevor (MFAT), Jack (Sanford research and developments).

We sail south on Sunday 22nd November 12:00hrs…..by all accounts I don’t think we have to go far to see our first ice berg.

Rgds: John B.

4th September 2009

As the wharf space in Port Stanley is limited, when the catch verification process is finished, and we have loaded the stores and supplies we need for the trip home, we must move away and allow the next boat in line to start their verification process.

The last thing we need is about 154 ton of fuel to top up our tanks before we head home. Usually we do that from the wharf, but at this time, shore supplies were low and we had to go alongside a small trading fuel tanker in Berkley Sound, just around the corner from Port Stanley. That went well, and we were finally on our way by 02:30hrs on Friday morning. First waypoint is for Cape Horne, about a day ½ South-west from the Falklands.

This shot was taken just before we left the wharf at Port Stanley.
From left, Grant, Masa and Shooter have been aboard since April and are looking forward to the flight home on Saturday, it’s been a long haul for them, 5 months at sea. Migs (from Sulivan Shipping) has been our agent for the last 4 seasons and he takes care of coordinating customs, port authorities, stores, equipment and just about anything we need while we’re at the Falklands. Dean (on the right) is our vessel manager, he has flown over from NZ to meet the ship. Dean is kept busy during the verification process working alongside the MSC people that weigh our fish and eventually issue the very important  “Catch Documentation” paperwork.

Rgds: John B.

2nd September 2009

Port Stanley when the sun comes out looking South West.

We have been alongside the wharf in Port Stanley for 3 days now and the crew have just finished reloading. This is called the “catch verification process”, we must unload all of catch and have the weight checked by inspectors from the South Georgia government. This has to be done to satisfy requirements for MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) accreditation. Without this we can not sell our fish anywhere in the world.

Each fish is wrapped in a plastic bag, the big fish go into sacks and the smaller fish are packed in 20kg boxes. Each sack and box has a barcode label that is scanned during the unload. At the end, our reported catch figures must be the same, or very close, to the figures the inspectors have before they will officially verify our catch. This season we had a difference of 0.08%. To the best of our knowledge nobody has come close to that level of accuracy in this fishery before. We’re patting ourselves on the back for that.

Unloading in the snow, FIPASS wharf, Stanley.

Reloading from the holding containers, into the cargo nets to be lifted back aboard.

Tomorrow we take bunkers (Fuel) and start heading for home.

Rgds: John B.

31st August 2009

It’s a 26 hour day today as we turn the clocks back 2 hours to Falkland Island local time. We have been steaming west from South Georgia into a force 8 gale with sleet and snow for the last 3 days and the prospect of laying still alongside the huge floating barges that form the Port Stanley wharf, and a stroll on the beach after 72 days at sea in the Southern Ocean, is much like anticipating a summer holiday or the start of a long vacation.

But it’s not over yet, we still have to unload and reload out catch for the verification process, (That all takes about 3 days) take on fuel and stores and make ready for the long haul home.

A small Patagonian Toothfish.

Rgds: John B.

22nd August 2009

As part of our licensing requirements in the South Georgia & South Sandwich fishery we must undertake to tag and release a percentage of the Toothfish we catch.

This season we have tagged almost 800 fish from both areas. At US$18.00 per kilo that equates to about NZ $75,000 worth of Toothfish we have tagged and returned to the water. It is a high price to pay but necessary for the proper, effective management of a sustainable fishery.

So far this trip we have recaptured and recorded details off 106 previously tagged Toothfish, 14 of those fish were tagged by us during the last 4 seasons we have fished in South Georgia.

 

In this photo, Masa has carried this fish from the hauling station to the live fish holding tank where it will calm down for a while before being measured, weighed, tagged and then released.

 

 

In the second photo, Sandy and Juliet are tagging Toothfish. There are about 6 more fish in the tank waiting to be done. Then we have to choose our moment to put them in the water otherwise the Seals will get them before they’ve gone 10 metres. Sometimes we have to hold them in the tank for hours before letting them go.

Rgds: John B.

19th August 2009

It’s only 12 more days until the end of August and the close of the South Georgia Toothfish season. All 10 vessels must have their last lines out of the water before midnight on the 31st August. Then its time to start heading home. The first port of call is Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands where we must unload, weigh then reload our entire catch before bringing it home.

This has to be done to satisfy the MSC requirements so our fish can be sold to international markets. It’s an interesting time with all vessels heading for port at the same time and everyone needs to get their catch unloaded and verified by the South Georgia fisheries then reloaded as soon as possible so we can finally be on our way home after 5 months of fishing. Some of our crew will fly home but many of us will stay on and bring the ship home to NZ, that takes about another month!

Masa and Jamie in the hauling room, thinking about that nice warm fire and cold beer at the local Stanley Pub.

Rgds: John B.

16th August 2009

The hook room is a hive of activity for around 18hrs a day while lines and hooks are coming aboard.

When a line is hauled it comes in through the hauling room, around the main hauler, and then pulled to the hook room by the combi hauler. The combi hauler catchers the hooks and hangs them on the magazines as the line is pulled from the hauling room.

If the bottom is rocky, or there are big tangles, the crew can replace up to 1,000 hooks on each line that comes aboard.

 

Thao working the combi hauler, to his right is the CCTV monitor focused on the main hauler, 20m further forward in the hauling room. Operating the combi is the most stressful job on deck. If it’s not set up properly the combi will simply drop the hooks and miss the magazine guide… then they end up on the deck.You can’t wear gloves while doing this job and the water temp this line has just come from is -1 degree, it can’t get much colder without freezing.

Juliet is hanging new hooks on the repair rail and getting things ready along "Skid Row" as the next line is about to come aboard.

The hook room in top gear with Grant on the combi, Shooter backing up,Aaron (pulling a... I'm a zombie on the combi face), and Shane splicing the 4 strand lead core back bone where a large tangle had been cut out and was still in the hauling room waiting to be un-tangled, de-hooked then re-hung on the magazines for shooting latter that night.

Rgds: John B.

9th August 2009

Hi there Jack, Lilee and the crew from 1JG, its great to hear from you all.

It is true the sun does not set during the summer months in Antarctica while we are fishing in the Ross Sea. But over here in South Georgia, during the middle of winter, we have about 15hrs of darkness every day and only 9 hours of daylight. I think you should ask Miss Juanita to explain how the change from summer to winter goes from 24 hours of daylight to 24 hours of darkness in Antarctic winter.

The photo is of me driving the ship as we haul a line. It usually takes 7 hours to haul one line that is 13 kilometers long with about 10,000 hooks.

You can see the clickers for counting the fish alongside the main engine and bow thruster controls. The radar, chart plotter, echo sounder, line controller, 3 radios and CCTV controls are all in easy reach of the driving seat.

Keep up the good work with the homework Jack, it won’t be too long and I’ll home to help you with it.  Love Dad.

Rgds: Sandy P.

6th August 2009

90% of the fish we catch are Toothfish and the rest are classed as by-catch.

The main by-catch species we catch in South Georgia are Grenadier (Rat tail), Skate and Rays, Antimorid cod, Ice fish and a few Crabs.

The Grenadier are filleted and sold to the local market in Port Stanley,Falkland Isl.

The crews share of the sales money from that will go toward crew entertainment. One suggestion from the crew for this seasons “Rat Money” is to buy one of those fancy Media-gate hard drives so the team can watch a movie or mini series during meal times or shift change.  Most of the crew also have DVD players in their cabins.

Masa in the factory holding a Grenadier that he is about to fillet. We usually get a 20kg box of fillets from a days fishing.

Sue in the hauling room holding a large Spider Crab (Paralomis Formosa). We only catch about 10 of these a day and this is a reasonably big one. As a rule, all Crabs are removed from the hook and thrown back over the side, but sometimes we do keep a few for a feed. ( Sue hates Crabs...and it's a real pity I'm not allowed to show you some of the other shots I got while getting this one.....maybe latter when she's not watching).

Rgds: John B.

1st August 2009

There are some days you would rather not be here. Today we have a Southerly storm blowing 50kts and 8meter seas with sleet and snow straight off the pack ice. We know, from satellite images, that the winter pack ice is now only 200 mile to the South of us.

The air temp is -8 outside and water temp 0.

Crew in the hauling room have to rotate every 2 hours so they can thaw out with hot coffee and get dry gloves before going back on deck to finish their shift.

On the bridge it gets difficult for the driver to see through the icy windows and keep the ship on the line without letting too many big buggers (waves) pore in on top of the hauling crew.

Sam, the observer, is doing his line observations for this line from inside today. Meanwhile, in the factory and hook room, the rest of the crew are getting on with their jobs while holding on with one hand as the ship rocks, pitchers and rolls through another rough day.

Shane, the 2nd mate, driving on the line. He must concentrate on every wave and anticipate every move the ship makes. It is so easy to get it wrong and fill the hauling room with water, or worse, he could break the line...that's not a good look. Sam in the back ground recording everything caught on this line segment,shortly he will go down to the factory and collect the biological datahe needs from the fish we've caught off this line.

 

From the driving position the driver has a good view of the hauling room and the oncoming weather. You can see the gaff man with orange wet weathergear at bottom of the picture.

When the windscreen wiper stops working we can't see, there is a mad panic to cut the line and buoy the end off. Then we drag the chief out of his warm engine room to fix the problem while we give helpful instructions from inside.

Rgds: John B.