Considerable controversy erupted at the Small Pelagic Fishery Resource Assessment Group (SPFRAG) Meeting Number #12 on16th November 2011 … a meeting at which Mr Gerry Geen of Seafish Tasmania introduced a Mr Per Pevik:
“Mr Pevik’s boats are flagged to Vanuatu and have been fishing the Chilean Jack Mackerel fishery there for four years. Mr Pevik is observing the (RAG) to get some idea for management arrangements, how the stock assessment is conducted, to gain confidence in the fishery, to test the political environment and to assess the potential for development.”
Mr Pevik then provided some details of his boats:
“The fishery in the South Pacific has dropped considerably in the last four years and he has been looking to reposition one of his boats.”
The arrival on the scene of Mr Pevik for whatever reason and the fact that he was allowed to Participate (Page 11) should have changed the ball game at (SPFRAG) forever. The quotas were revised to accommodate Mr Pevik, Mr Geen and a giant freezer/trawler.
Who is Per Pevik? Why was he present at this crucial time? And was he representing a third party?
Per Pevik, was the former operations manager of the American company Emerald Resource Management Inc. He was sentenced to 90 days detention and two years probation after pleading guilty to the felony charge of concealing harvest information from National Marine Fisheries Service inspectors. He was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and perform 200 hours of community service in a fishing related area. His former employer, Emerald Resources, was ordered to pay a $350,000 fine. (1)
Per Pevik now manages Unimed Glory, a subsidiary of the Greek Company Laskaridis Shipping, which operates four trawlers in the Southern Pacific. Greece, a nation with membership of the European Union subsidises these vessels. They are all flagged for the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu. They operate outside the control of Brussels and catch more Jack Mackerel than their E.U. quota would allow.(2)
Per Pevik, in the same article is further quoted, that because Vanuatu did not meet EU sanitary standards his fish could not be sold in Europe. Instead he sold Jack Mackerel to Africa. Asked whether the European authorities objected to his Vanuatu flags, he said, ‘No they don’t bother me about that’.…..”. Geen has stated the fish would be shipped frozen to Africa.
The New York Times article continues:
“In the Southern Pacific after years of aggressive fishing industrial fleets find fewer and fewer Jack Mackerel. EU flagged vessels collectively caught more than 111,000 tonnes of Jack Mackerel in 2009 reduced to 2,261 tonnes in 2011.”
In other words the EU Maxi trawlers have fished out the Chilean coast in the southern Pacific in a matter of three years.
I suggest that the groundwork for the increase in the Jack Mackerel Quota to both Pevik and Geen’s advantage was laid with Pevik present at meeting # 12 cited above. The minutes of this meeting were neither read nor passed at Meeting # 13 of the 28th Feb 2012 – an extraordinary procedure – and for what reason:
“Due to time constraints SPFRAG agreed to consider the draft record of the 12th SPFRAG meeting held in November 2011 out -of-session”.
When finally tabled they provided proof of Pevik’s unusual attendance and input as previously quoted. Further, this meeting met with considerable disagreement between the parties and is now subject to an Ombudsman/Wilkie enquiry
In an out-of-session paper of 4 pages which is undated, the South East Management Advisory Committee (SEMAC) is asked to consider and recommend Total Allowable Catches (TAC) to AFMA in the East and West sub areas:
“The season starts on the 1st May 2012 when it is anticipated that statuary fishing rights (SFR) will come into effect under the Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan 2009.
“Other than Jack Mackerel East the Recommended Biological Catches (RBC) and (TAC’s) set out in this paper are consistent in the application of the 2009 Small Pelagic Fishery Strategy without variation or exception.”
There is a variation – and this is important in that it makes a maxi trawler viable,
“The only variation was the agreement to increase by a further 5,600 tons above the Tier Two maximum of 5,000 tons.”, (The Jack Mackerel East Total Allowable Catch.)
This was done after the receipt of a Research Plan from none other than Gerry Geen – a long term sitting member of SEMAC. Tabled as attachment # 2 it is proving difficult to locate.
This had been strongly objected to at the SPFRAG meeting#13 of 28 Feb 2012 by two of the 8 committee members; Graham Pike and Jon Bryan when taken to a majority vote.
It is in this context that I publish ( Download: Letter_page_1.pdf , Letter_page_2.pdf ) the 2 page letter from an unknown, long standing, but still close-to-the-action source written the day before the SEMAC teleconference that was to finalise the matter on 26 March 2012. The letter to which he refers has not been traced.
“You are likely to have read a letter emailed to you in the past 24 hours from xxxxx, a long standing xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and a long serving xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.I unequivocally support every one of xxx reasons for opposing the Jack Mackerel East recommendation from the February meeting of the (SPFRG) the facts he sets out about the processes and outcomes of the meeting and also the basis on which he argues for maintenance of the precautionary principle, particularly in relation to Jack Mackerel.
“Because of xxxxx excellent statement of the fact and the reasons for strongly opposing the recommendation which is being put to you at the SEMAC Meeting, I will not repeat it, except to make it quite clear that I strongly oppose the Jack Mackerel East recommendation as well.
“Instead I want to propose an outcome for SEMAC to consider which could satisfy most, with the possible exception for the proponents of the super trawler; still enable a SPF DEPM to proceed, maintain the precautionary principle and not jeopardise the future of the stocks and their management. ….
“It is a simple fact that the reason for the controversy and disagreement about the SPF’s Jack Mackerel East recommendation is that it was arrived at in a way different to the other RBC recommendations,following a proposal by a RAG member that a corporation he is part of is planning to introduce a large trawler/freezer vessel in the SPF(see the proposal) before the SEMAC meeting and that this vessel will also undertake a one off DEPM of an area of the SPF of his corporations choosing. There was also the statement made in the SPF meeting that a minimum of about 10,000 tons of Eastern Jack Mackerel … would be needed to make the venture commercially viable.
“As you are aware xxxx and I have serious concerns about the soundness, scientific and otherwise of the Jack Mackerel East recommendation before you at SEMAC.”
The vessel now being used by the parties is a joint venture with the Dutch company Parlevliet & Van der Plas.
Consider the history, and the facts:
• 13 dolphins were killed in his nets then thrown overboard from his trawler Ellida with no action from Australian Fisheries Management Authority ( Comment 30, here ).
• An American ship, the Atlantic Star, was thrown out of American waters by order of The American Congress. It re-appeared, re-badged as the ‘Margiris’ which is now morphing into the ‘Abel Tasman’ flagged in Brisbane.
All thanks to a Queensland Senator/Minister for Fisheries, Joe Ludwig?
I wonder if – in view of the questionable history of of both the ship and the dealings at AFMA level – we have here enough reasons to apply the Canberra Times Test?
The Canberra Times Test, “is applied mentally by all senior public servants when making decisions; If my (the decision makers) decision or anything arising from it appears on the front page of The Canberra Times, would it (i) embarrass the Minister or the Government and/or generate media enquiries to both, and (ii) is it absolutely unchallengeable and unimpeachable on the basis of all the facts or could a probing journalist find irregularities, anomalies or weaknesses in any of the processes or decision leading to my ultimate decision?”
Senator Ludwig I suggest this plan with all it’s questionable history and dealings fails the Canberra Times test. In fact it is a front-page Camberra Times story.
I ask you Senator Ludwig: What is in it, for you, or your party? Why are you allowing this. It makes no sense … surely Australians can catch the fish for the benefit of Australians?
Senator Richard Colbeck you are Ludwig’s Fisheries opposite number in the Liberal Party in the Senate.
In the Whish – Wilson Debate to come will you, Senator Colbeck, go to water? Or will you actually do your job … represent your State and oppose this potentially disastrous plan?
I hope this gives you all something to debate – John Hawkins
Refs:
1. The Seattle Times, Saturday, March 26, 1994.
2. The New York Times, January 25, 2012
• The Center for Public Integrity: ‘Free-for-all’ decimates fish stocks in the southern Pacific
• New York Times: In Mackerel’s Plunder, Hints of Epic Fish Collapse
• The Seattle Times: Fishing exec sentencing
• Mercury: $14m Bass Strait boost (inc. Seafish Tasmania: THIRTY-SIX Tasmanian exporters will receive a total of $14.5 million under the Tasmanian Shipping Transition Assistance Fund. The Federal Government granted a one-off $20 million package to help Tasmanian exporters reach international markets after the loss of an international shipping service from Bell Bay. Infrastructure Minister David O’Byrne said the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER) had assessed the applications. Successful companies included large manufacturers Rio Tinto Bell Bay and TEMCO and a number of primary industry-based companies such as Seafish Tasmania and Harvest Moon. In total the companies exported more than 30,000 full, 20 foot-equivalent containers (TEUs) in the period from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012.
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/09/07/359511_tasmania-news.html
• Peter Whish-Wilson: Deadline Monday … HERE
• ABC Online: Funding questioned
…
Tasmanian Greens MP Kim Booth is criticising a Commonwealth handout to the company for its fish oil business.
Seafish Tasmania is one of 36 Tasmanian businesses which will share in more than $14 million to help them meet international export costs.
A spokesman says the funds will go towards the company’s fish oil business at Triabunna, on Tasmania’s east coast.
Mr Booth says if the company can afford to bring the super trawler to Australia, it can afford freight costs.
“I think that when you’re looking at public money subsidising operations of comapnies that are involved in various ventures, such as bringing the Margiris over here against the interests of the community, then I suppose you need to look at it in a broader sense across all their operations,” he said.
“If they can afford to bring a super trawler from the northern hemisphere to plunder our fish stocks then maybe Seafish should be paying for their own freight.”
• See Comment 20, Download:
landmark182004.pdf
