Fiji's fishery ministry to use aluminium boat for surveillance in fishing water

For the first time, the Ministry of Fisheries in the Northern Division in Fiji has acquired a new alumini­um boat to handle its surveillance work at the fishing water. A senior technical officer from Ministry of Fisheries spoke about the lightweighting and fuel economy of the aluminium boat in comparison to fibreglass boats.

During the hand-over of the boat in Labasa, the senior tech­nical officer Reginald Caine said the new boat would be saf­er and more efficient for the officers and protect them from getting wet when they go out for policing.  

“This (aluminium) boat is much better than the fibreglass boat because its fuel consumption is low and travelling long distances can be covered much faster,” Mr Caine said.

“There was an urgent need for an aluminium boat for monitoring, surveillance and control of our fishing grounds. There are some marine protected areas, which our officers constantly need to monitor,” he added.

Aluminium boats are getting popular in fishing and water recreation sector mostly because of its lightweight and anti-corrosive nature. They enhance performance and consume lesser fuel. The aluminium boat can carry 10 peo­ple and is compatible with the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) standards.