Trawler men daub ship as Tish war’ heats up

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34021, 10 December 1975, Page 22

Trawler men daub ship as Tish war’ heats up

: e-ji Zealand Press Association > WELLINGTON. December 9. A xxar of words broke out in Wellington today between local trawlermen and a big Russian supply xessel.

The tra« lermen intend to hara—> all foreign fishing vessels in the Wel-lington-took Strait area daring the summer. They say -hat some of their number will die at sea this •miner unless something is done to cheek the activities of foreign trawlers. A spokesman for the Wellington Trawlermen*. ’ Association Mr Peter Deakin said todav that the foremen vessels were f’-hina-out New Zealanders’ trad>*’onal grounds. Three b’a R'in>w trawlers, b'eeer than th* Cook Strait rail feme- h*d been fishing in Cook Stra«» dunns the last week, he sa<d Local trau'ermen today painted a message to foreign trawlers on Queens wharf, where the Russian supply vessel Indigirka is berthed. “Stop raping our fishing grounds.’’ it said in Russian. Officials from the Russian Embassv visited the ship soon after the incident and returned later in the dav when a photographer and reporter were talkn» »o ’rawlermer The Ind'girka - captair «a:d he :<j talk to th* reoorter bur changed hi* mind after discussing the matter tn Russian with the Embassy’s Second Secretary (Consular! (Mr Anatolv Matrayevi. Mr Matrayev spoke to the trawlermen and invited them to visit the Russian Embassy' and discuss the matter. He confirmed that the Indigirka was a fishing supply' vessel, but said none of his, country’s trawlers fished in-

1 side New Zealand’s 12-mile . limit. “What is wrong?’’ he asked the trawlermen. "We are not l coming inside the 12-mile limit of your country.” Mr Deakin said local trawr, lermen were annoyed that the s Russian vessels have moved s in on their traditional “mains oank” area off Cane Camp-

oell. “We want the Russians to remove their big trawlers from the area as a token of good faith.” It did not matter if the Russians were fishing 50 [ miles off the coast because 'they were cleaning out the) ifish that would eventually! 'swim into the local trawling: grounds. "Foreign fishing boats j have trawled out the rest of: the world and now they are: moving in on New Zealand.”: Mr Deakin said local trawlermen would harass all foreign; vessels in the Cook Strait area during the summer. j “We have to do it, or we are going to end up going broke.” The local trawiermen ex-; pect the biggest concentration[ of foreign fishing vessels ever, off the coast this summer.' “And some of our men will)

end up dying out there ini their small trawlers.” Mr Deakin said. “The foreign boats don’t; man their bridges and they' use - the automatic pilot system in crowded areas. We have got to stand up and be counted or our children won’t know what a terakihi looks like.” The Trawlermen’s Association president (Mr Peter Stevens) said his members were preparing for a fullscale battle with the foreign vessels. “We will be harassing the Russians, Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese. and the Yanks if they come. We are doing the work that should be done by our Government.” Mr Stevens said he hoped that other trawlermen throughout New Zealand would join the harassment, j