Solander wins seabird award
Date: 06 October 2005
Nelson-based company Solander Fisheries has been awarded the Seabird Smart Award for its contributions to preventing harm to seabirds.
The chief executive of Aotearoa Fisheries, Robin Hapi, presented the award to Solander's founder and managing director, Charles Hufflett, at the Southern Seabird Solution's annual supporters meeting in Nelson last night.
Mr Hapi described Mr Hufflett as "a driving force behind the company's commitment to seabird bycatch mitigation". "Through his determination and commitment, he has personally had an enormous impact on setting the standards for bycatch mitigation in the industry."
But Mr Hufflett said the award was more for the people at sea, who developed the company's techniques. "It's really a thank you to them."
Solander was one of the first companies to systematically record and report seabird bycatch. Using tori lines - streamers towed from the stern of the boat to scare birds away - was standard for the company well before it became mandatory.
The company has trialled new devices for repelling birds almost every year since 1995, and continues to use devices like weighted lines to sink bait beyond birds' reach, sonic cannons - a marine adaptation of the cannons used on orchards - and star shells, which fire a sound shell to frighten birds off.
As a member of the Ornithological Society, Mr Hufflett said he had a personal interest in saving seabirds, but there had been a culture shift which made such measures more common.
"There's quite a cost to this but it's almost an accepted cost these days. You simply don't go out and slaughter lots and lots of birds if it can be reduced."
Southern Seabird Solutions is a trust formed in 2002 to mitigate the effects of fishing on Southern Hemisphere seabirds. Supporters include the Department of Conservation, Sealord, the Seafood Industry Council and international wildlife group the WWF.
Nelson-based company Solander Fisheries has been awarded the Seabird Smart Award for its contributions to preventing harm to seabirds.
The chief executive of Aotearoa Fisheries, Robin Hapi, presented the award to Solander's founder and managing director, Charles Hufflett, at the Southern Seabird Solution's annual supporters meeting in Nelson last night.
Mr Hapi described Mr Hufflett as "a driving force behind the company's commitment to seabird bycatch mitigation". "Through his determination and commitment, he has personally had an enormous impact on setting the standards for bycatch mitigation in the industry."
But Mr Hufflett said the award was more for the people at sea, who developed the company's techniques. "It's really a thank you to them."
Solander was one of the first companies to systematically record and report seabird bycatch. Using tori lines - streamers towed from the stern of the boat to scare birds away - was standard for the company well before it became mandatory.
The company has trialled new devices for repelling birds almost every year since 1995, and continues to use devices like weighted lines to sink bait beyond birds' reach, sonic cannons - a marine adaptation of the cannons used on orchards - and star shells, which fire a sound shell to frighten birds off.
As a member of the Ornithological Society, Mr Hufflett said he had a personal interest in saving seabirds, but there had been a culture shift which made such measures more common.
"There's quite a cost to this but it's almost an accepted cost these days. You simply don't go out and slaughter lots and lots of birds if it can be reduced."
Southern Seabird Solutions is a trust formed in 2002 to mitigate the effects of fishing on Southern Hemisphere seabirds. Supporters include the Department of Conservation, Sealord, the Seafood Industry Council and international wildlife group the WWF.