Fishing inside teserve

I haven't been able to have a proper conversation with the DoC lady yet, been in meetings all day (her, not me) and then tried talking to her while she was driving and the signal kept dropping out.
I've texted her the photos of the guys, ute and boat, and a statement from myself confirming it is the same boat fishing in the same spot on Tues 23rd April, and that I spoke to them at the boat ramp and told them they were fishing inside a reserve.

I've asked to hear what DoC do, and will follow them up.

HT, noting your comments on the NZ Fishing Community about causing a shit-storm(which I agree with), which is easy in an uncontrolled social media environment, my current thinking is to sit on the photos I took identifying these guys and see what DoC does. If they don't do anything we can consider posting them more widely in the future. It appears that, with such a distinctive boat, people that know them can identify them from the photos of them fishing inside the reserve.
While I'm keen for these guys to get some karma, there also needs to be a degree of proportionality to it, and I think posting their faces on a fishing page with 102,000 members has the risk of things getting out of hand. A bit different to the 2 dozen or so users on here ;-)

At least now people will be eyes out for a red inflatable fishing inside the Long Bay marine reserve.

Yes I saw that post and thought it was appropriately called out by the commenters.
Firstly, I wasn't aware a Rahui had been placed out there. I don't think it was an actual rahui, just a guy deciding for everyone else. Then it went all the way up to East Cape and he was referencing Waihau Bay, as in the Bay of Plenty, when the tradegy unfolded off Mahia, rescue vessels from Napier.

But yeah, threatening violence and damaging peoples trucks etc as a way of honouring or showing respect, that got called out bigly.

Related to all that, it sounds like the Bluefin Tuna types have suddenly developed an interest in Safety at Sea and sea survival type stuff the yacht racing fraternity have been doing. And I'm sure it is no coincidence I got an email from Marine Deals doing specials on EPIRB's and Personal Locator Beacons. The fishing sector has to be easily the biggest marine user sector, and I suspect those gamefish / bluefin types are the top sector for spending dollars per boat, so I suspect after this Gisborne tragedy and the Enchanter cluster everyone is going out and buying a PLB for everyone onboard. I know I would, noting I already have one for myself.

PLBs are interesting. 1st off there are 2 types,1 is non specific range .Anywhere in a 5 km radius and 2nd  150m radius. Batteries on average last 24hrs and cost. and replacement battery cost,might as well throw it away after 5yrs    Thinking ideal if solo and you go overboard.



My Thinking is a proper epirb,cheaper,keep in cockpit by helm/tiller etc most have at least 10yr life run for 48hrs

Consulted son and he thinks epirb is better from a electronic point of view.

I'm not following you. Don't get PLB's mixed up with personal AIS / MOB devices.

PLB's have the same signal functionality as an EPIRB. The only differences are they are not required to float by themselves, and have an operating battery life of 24 hrs instead of the mandatory 48 hrs.
They send a signal via satellite of distress to the MRCC, and depending on the spec you get give GPS coordinates, and, same with EPRIB's have a 121.5Hz homing signal as well. At least my one does.

You can get MOB / AIS devices that look like a PLB but rely on VHF transmission (As in AIS). They possibly have a place, but I don't have one. Their functionality is primarily limited to large crew on yachts, allowing the yacht to find and recover a MOB. In my situation I am often solo, either fishing in the 3m deflatable, or sailing, so my own boat knowing where I am is a bit futile, hence why I carry a PLB (and HH VHF and dive torch).

My PLB is an Ocean Signal with a 7 year battery life. I've previously had ACR PLB's with 5 year battery life. Yes, the economics of replacing batteries aren't there - the ACR replacement cost was $250 each, where I got my Ocean Signal PLB for a bit over $500 I think.

But in the scheme of things, the cost of replacing the battery or PLB is not a consideration. How much do you spend on fishing gear? Or general boat usage and ownership costs? Considering you are lucky if you get two years out of flares before you have to replace them.

Given my understanding of the speed things can go wrong with boats, esp fizz boats broaching in a following sea, flipping, or getting nailed on a bar crossing, or yacht sailors going overboard, I think what ever you have, you should have it on you. Even if that is just a handheld VHF or a dive torch / strobe light.

I know it is just speculation, and whilst wanting to be respectful while we wait for some details, I suspect if those 3 fisho's out of Gisborne had PLB's on them, in the pocket or what not, they would almost definitely have survived.

A man told me not that long ago.

If heavily regulated items like sensors and so on sell with '10 Year Battery life' but often fail only after a year or 3 so why would you trust your life to some other safety item that also claims 10 years. He reckons he always replaces batteries at 1/2 the marketeers age i.e. if they sell it asa10year he replaces them at 5 years.

He sells batteries including very technical ones along with EPIRBs/PLBs.
He is a bit anal but not stupid so I've wondered where his comment sits,in his anal section or his not silly section.

You can get self activating EPIRB's. They are mandatory on commercial boats now. It is a standard EPIRB in a bracket with a hydrostatic release activator, like on a liferaft or similar to the super posh auto LJ's.
Only issue is pricing starts at $1,200.

I think PLB's are very cheap for what they are. In comparison to cell phones, what's a new one cost? $1,200? $2,000? I had a look at what my work phone would cost and it made my head spin, pricing was in that order.

But a cell phone has a range of a km or so, maybe 5km, where a PLB talks to satellites and has unlimited range. Good in the mountains, down in deep valleys, in the middle of the ocean, etc. And cell phones need charging every day, or every few days at the least. The PLB battery lasts for 7 years without needing to charge it.
Oh, and PLB's are fully waterproof, so you can leave it in the pocket of your wet raincoat / leggings / lifejacket etc and it will be fine - try doing that with a cell phone.

Actually, it is beyond me how you could use a cell phone if you are in trouble on a boat. I take mine fishing cause I use it to run Navionics. In a dry bag obviously. If the thing is wet I can't work the touch screen. No idea if you can make a voice call with it in the dry bag, but take it out and it will be buggered in seconds.

VHF's are reasonably priced for what they are I think, cheaper than a PLB. You have to charge them, but they are waterproof (generally). Only work in line of sight so far more limited than a PLB, but far better than nothing. Very handy if you are in trouble but not entirely in the shit. You can quietly call for assistance instead of scrambling rescue helos etc. Engine wont go kind of thing.

As a note, The Enchanter had the latest mandatory float-free self activating EPIRB. It didn't work, in that it didn't float free initially, and when it did, it didn't self activate. Some time after the capsize it floated past by complete chance, one of the guys grabbed it and hung onto it like a politician clinging to power.
But picture this. Now, all punters on Enchanter fishing charters wear PLB's. Have a look on their FB photos of monster Kingies at the 3 Kings. If that exact same rogue wave and capsized happened again, everyone will find themselves suddenly in the water again. But this time, instead of drifting hopelessly in the dark wondering if anyone will find out they've even had a capsize, they can all pull their PLB's out of their pockets or off their belts, some even have them strapped to their arms, set it off, MRCC will know there is a clusterfuck straight away, and the rescue helo's can home in on them directly.

A self activated EPRIB will stay with the boat wreckage, not with the people in the water. EPRIBS have the advantage they float, so there is a disadvantage with a PLB you need to hold it out of the water for it to work. Mine is always on a lanyard. I know you can have them fitted to your inflatable LJ, which I haven't done as I don't always wear my inflatable LJ. I use a foam LJ for fishing (more durable and many more pockets).

I'll say this:
7 people would have survived recently if they were wearing PLB's. 4 out of the 5 fatalities on the Enchanter (noting one was stuck below in his bunk when it capsized), and the 3 Gisborne fisho's.

Given the cost of boating, or even the cost of a charter on something like the Enchanter, I think PLB's are very good value for money. Given the available options for communicating distress, I think they are the most reliable and effective. And I think they are the easiest to wear on you. Even VHF's are twice the size, plus a big annoying aerial to pock you even time you bend forward. In the example of those 7 fatallities it is apparent that the individuals found themselves in the water so fast they didn't have time to scratch their nuts, let alone grab an EPIRB out of a bracket and then manage to hang onto it while getting tipped upside down.

If I was one for centralised govt and lots of rules, I'd go so far as to say Maritime NZ should make it compulsory for everyone to wear a PLB on the water, although I think that is a bit silly and going a bit far. To balance that though I wouldn't want to rely solely on a PLB. Hence why I have a VHF and dive torch as well. But given the choice of a single item, I'd take the PLB first over anything else.

The AIS personal beacon squawks on any AIS equipped boat within its range whatever that may be , at the moment I think it’s only a VHF signal so range would be limited . Replacement batteries for PLBs can be bought in Oz but they don’t come with the official sticker to certify it’s been replaced or you could make your own from a good brand CR123A lithium batteries from battery master .