SOMETHING IN THE WATER

We took this shot while we were out on the Hauraki Gulf with some mates over the weekend. These birds (not sure what they are but they look a bit like a muttonbird), the kahawai and some weeny fish all combined to make the water boil at the back of Rotoroa Island. It was fascinating to watch and we had the added bonus of catching a few kahawai, which were very tasty sashimed . The Gulf is very pretty( and a bit busy!) but its not great for fishing. We caught about 30 snapper and only one was a takeable. Luckily the skipper and his good woman managed to catch a couple more keepers.

However we did enjoy nice Lake Chalice Sauvignon Blanc with the Sashimi.. Its a good wine to pair with seafood. Interestingly, we loved the heady passionfruit and blackcurrant aromas they added some finesse to the tasty heavy flesh of the Kahawai.

A lot of people write off Kahawai but it was fantastic and here are a few recipes as well. My mate put it in a tikka masala curry and its a good curry fish as its holds its shape.

We had a superb weekend with some great mates which was all a bit unexpected but very relaxing however I am always amazed how crap the fishing is in the North Island.

So lesson for those who like seriously good fishing, we suspect that there are many good fishing spots in the Hauraki and it would be fun looking for them but if you really love fishing - head south - like to Stewart Island and Fiordland.

Its a world away but will satisfy the greatest passion for catching the denizens of the deep.

DOGS OF THE BIG DEEP

We have come into contact with many amazing animals in our lifetime but few have had an impact on us as great as both Sealions and Sea leopards.

We live with sea lions on a daily basis on the muttonbird islands and they really are the dogs of the sea and we mean that in a good way. They are intelligent, beguiling, graceful and have a primitive sense of what we believe is humour.

Sea leopards are light years more advanced than sea lions. However they are also considerably more aggressive.

Sealions are like border collies to the Sealeopards huskies.

It is hard to watch a video of some silly, silly young men who on seeing a very, very sick sea leopard decided to pelt it with rocks. Think a wounded dog lying in the street. Its the same - in fact the leopard is probably much more intelligent.

So instead of calling DOC or alerting some one who could either treat the obviously very ill leopard or put the animal out of its misery, the youths decided to torture it.

It is sick.

The criminals deserved much worse than a sentence of 4 months.

Below is some footage which we believe is one of the best examples of how these animals think. It is raw, its powerful and it shows the intellectual depth of these great creatures.

In his own primal way he is giving a gift.

He doesn't harm the penguin. He even takes it up for air. But he wants to give it to the camera man -extraordinary.

BOOK OUTRAGE BOILS OVER FOR WHITCOULLS

There is nothing more fascinating than a fast brewing social media storm.

There are howls of outrage today as foodies around the country find out that Bookseller giant Whitcoulls wont stock the latest cooking tome of top chef and food artiste Martin Bosley.

His new book will be a popular Xmas present and even with a $90 price tag Bosleys stunning food presentation will elevate this book beyond your normal pantry guide.

Bosleys says this

"Despite rave reviews, our stunning new book is not for sale at Whitcoulls as its not 'their kind of book', Makes you wonder what is."

And interestingly the pot is being stirred by another leading chef who loves playing with his food - Kent Baddeley.

Wine writers, foodies critics and Wellingtonians are incensed, the tweets and facebook pages are filling up fast. Whitcoulls will need to act quicker that baking powder in a sponge if its to dampen this one down before it find its self with a spoiled reputation.

Another realtime example of the power of social media. Stuff like this is happening:

"Martin Bosley, @martinbosleys is now trending in New Zealand http://trendsmap.com/nz"

And for those who are interested the #hashtag on twitter is #farkuwhitcoulls.

Power to the peeps, we say.

And yip we will be buying a copy.

ON THE SAFE SIDE

Well, we have the start of what appears to be a decline in blue cod stocks in Southland but some fishermen are upbeat about the state of the flatfish stocks. Flatfish took a hammering a few years back and as a result the quota was cut considerably. Its estimated that the flat fish Total Allowable catch is worth about the same as Blue Cod - $35million.

However, while fishermen in Riverton think that a couple of good years means that the quota should be up for review, a fishermen for whom we have enormous respect, John Young (aka Bunyion) isnt so sure. He is happy to take a wait and see approach. We agree. Its takes a good five years to work out any meaningful patterns in stock rebuilds.

And if there is an increase in numbers of fish and the quality is right up there - then dig in. flat fish from the deep south especially the big meaty flounders and brill, are significantly better eating than the insipid almost translucent tiny flounders often served in in Wellington fish shops.

And the best way to eat flounder? On the bone. Dusted with season flour, pan fried in butter and served with a beurre blanc.

And wine? A nice dry reisling - Johners would do nicely.

NZ'S FINEST BACK TO THEIR BEST

It appears that Bluff oysters are going to be both plentiful and fat next season. A recent NIWA study shows the Foveaux Strait beds are in good nick.

We have written about oysters a lot.

So how to have them? Fresh shucked with a sprinkle of ponzu and some fresh cracked black pepper. Naked is best.

<<<<<<<

And the best wine??? Its a no contest for us - Seresin Sauvignon Blanc.

The only other wine that is worthy of the worlds famous bivalves is bubbles.

Bloody hell we just dribbled on our keyboard and we have 6 more months to wait....

A HARD DAY AT THE OFFICE

A mate sent us this -  the southern oceans at their raw and powerful best......   Next time you think you pay too much for fish  - remember these pics.

WRONG OYSTERS!

We want to line up the picture editor at TV3 and chuck kinas at him ! The 6pm bulletin had a story on todays Bluff oyster harvest but they had file footage of PACIFIC oysters.. very bad. And to top it all off Dave Gooseneck got the name of one of the oyster boat skippers Stephen Hawke wrong - He called him Hawkins...

The Hawke will get you..... he is a legend - well is old man is and Stephen is the son of a legend...

As for the best oyster recipe - Easy - just naked - no prissy wee dribbles of lemon .. just naked with maybe a half turn of black pepper.. And they should be so fresh that they shiver....

These are the real Bluff oysters.... there are no substitutes..... apart from Southern Glory oysters which are really just Bluff oysters from a private school....

SHED FIVE= BELOW PAR

We managed to squeeze in a quick lunch at Shed 5 today.Its owned by Simon Gault of Masterchef NZ fame. We were with some mates , one of who was a very well known and highly respected Wellington chef.

He had a big problem with his steak.. It was not good.

Now we are seriously big fans of one of the Wellington dishes we think all food lovers should try - Snapper Pie at Arbitrageur. Comfort food at its finest.

Today we had the crab and prawn pot at Shed Five - it was crap. We do a better fish pie on a bad day with cheap fish.

However we have to say that since Stephen Morris is running front of House the service is impeccable. And the French waiter was superb.

Shame about the food.

A BETTER MAN

We watched today as a man who we had a huge amount of respect for, faltered and fell on his sword at what he saw was public condemnation for a minor infringement. Phil Heatley is a good man, a family man, a great father, a good husband and Minister the fishing industry had grown to respect.

We have met him a couple of times and there were those in the fishing industry who sought our advice of what sort of Minister he would be.

Straight and true, we said. Give him a logical argument and he will give you a logical decision.

So today, we lost that good Minister over a small mistake.

We got a call from a mate up north who said they were devastated - not for what he had done but the fact that he had resigned. He commands a lot of respect in his home patch.

We think it was a mark of the man that he made the decision to put his family ahead of his public office and the public glare that goes with it.We have a feeling that his resignation today was done purely to protect those matter most to him.

For that he will always have our respect.


We hope he does come back to the fold and sits in a Ministerial seat again. The seafood industry could do with his pragmatism and the country would be well served by a man of humility.

He is a better man.

VIDEO

We never tire of the amazing videos Whale gets his hands on.

EELS ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW DECADE

Eels getting prepared for smoking by dad. Yum

LIQUID SCAMPI

A Roarprawn reader submitted this - we don't know why...

Advertisement of Application for Putting Company into Liquidation
CIV-2009-441-739

This document notifies you that:
1. On 3 November 2009, an application for putting SCAMPI VENTURES LIMITED into liquidation was filed in the High Court at Napier. The application is to be heard by the High Court at Napier on 10 December 2009 at 10.00am.
2. A person, other than the defendant company, who wants to appear at the hearing of the application must file an appearance not later than the second working day before that day.
3. The plaintiff is the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Fisheries at Wellington, whose address for service is at Credit Consultants Debt Services NZ Limited, Level 3, 3—9 Church Street (PO Box 213 or DX SX 10069), Wellington. Telephone: (04) 470 5972.
Note: You may obtain further information from the registry of the Court or from the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s solicitor.
Dated this 20th day of November 2009.
DIANNE S. LESTER, Solicitor for Plaintiff.
SCAMPI VENTURES LIMITED

Apparently, according to the companies office, the shareholders are Graeme Clive Henry from Hamilton and Christopher Paul Walker Washdyke

TINOPAI KAIMOANA

We are still drooling... We went to the Wellington trawlers new fish market on Lambton quay today and in the window was one of our favourite seafood treats. Hapuka throats and cheeks. $15.95 a kilo they are . There is bugger all bone in them and they were pinky fresh.. A young eastern European chick asked me what I was buying and I told her they were the best buy in the shop..
" Do they have bones,? she asked, yes we told her - but not many. She bought what I didn't. For $5 dollars we got enough to fill us to the gunnels.

I cut them up a bit and then chopped up a white onion finely , drizzled them in olive oil and some light herbs, then added a splash of water and a good grind of salt and pepper and then baked them quick in a hot oven.

The meat is unbelievably sweet and all gluey.

Absolute bliss...

NGAI TAHU RESULT DISAPPOINTING AND LACKING CLARITY

This is the press release on Ngai Tahus result. We have tried to give some clarity to the "spin"

Tribe Well Positioned Despite Volatile Operating Climate

Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu has announced a net surplus of $13.3m for its commercial entities amid a climate of testing global market conditions.

As ever is hard to fathom what the real result is - however on the face of it, Ngai Tahu returned $13m on $513m of assets, or 2.5%. If you'd put the money in the bank at (say 7%) at the start of the year you'd have made just shy of $36m - so for the benefit of having the smart guys in charge we lost $23m.

In an announcement today, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Kaiwhakahaere, Mark Solomon, says that the results are pleasing in light of the difficult economic operating climate and reflect the strength of the balance sheet and its underlying assets.

"While the financial picture is not what we would desire, given the environment of the past year I deem our performance is as good as could be expected. We were in the fortunate position of having a strong balance sheet coming into the recession. Our collective tribal assets are strong, we have grown our equity by $13m to $526m, reduced our term debt and have positioned ourselves well to take advantage of growth periods ahead. In addition we generated a cash flow (after distribution) of $25 million from operating activities.

However the issue of distributions and how they work as well as cash flows is unsure given Ngai Tahu's spread of holdings, let alone their valuation basis and taxation advantages. However if we are really kind, let's say they actually "made" $25m (from the group distribution of $22m and debt reduction of $3m) - well you're still short of the risk free rate of $36m as above. Of course that approach would mean there are a bunch of people in Te Wai pounamu house who wouldn't have got paid.....

"I believe the results are a reward for our intergenerational policies and conservative approach to financial investment. While our profits were well down on the previous year, we have still registered a profit and have been able to honour our commitment to Ngai Tahu Whanui. Our different business sectors have performed ahead of many of their competitors in these difficult times."

Ngai Tahu Holdings Corporation Chair, Trevor Burt says, "While the past year has been our most challenging yet, the Group delivered a positive result at both the operating profit and net surplus level. The cash flow result of $25 million from operating activities is particularly pleasing.

"These results have largely been achieved due to the commitment and maturity of our team in hitting the challenges head on and making the tough calls that have positioned us well for the future."

And that forex policy looks a ripper

So let's be a bit less generous and say that the expected return from any commercial venture should be as a premium over that risk free rate from the point of view of an investor - the debate then focuses on what that premium should be, ie how high is the risk, and for example an SOE in the international sector might look to have a rate of just over 10% which could be a target for the Seafood company (though I'd suggest nearer 12% would be a minimum) and then the gap on the performance becomes quite stark.

Simply put, the performance of any commercial entity that is subject to political interference will always underperform over the medium to long term.

This sentiment has been echoed by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu CEO, Anake Goodall,

"Across the board there has been a commitment to work together to ensure the interests of our 45,000 plus stakeholders were protected as much as possible against the impact of the recession. Of particular note, we've managed to reduce expenditure by 11% without damaging the integrity of the underlying programmes and Ngai Tahu Holdings Group reducing our term debt by $3m.

"There is no denying that we have endured some difficult times over the past year but we have learnt from each of our challenges and as a result have reflected and refined our operations to put us in good stead moving forward."

Ngai Tahu Holdings Group Subsidiary Results in brief:

The downturn in the property sector impacted significantly on Ngai Tahu Property with an operating EBIT of $15.6m, a decrease of $3.5m on the previous year.

Ngai Tahu Seafood, while struggling with the volatility in the exchange rate which resulted in exchange rate losses of over $6m, managed to report its best ever underlying trading result, up 12% on the previous year. The result was an operating EBIT of $4.7 million. In response to the foreign exchange issues, a full review of its hedging policy has been undertaken and the necessary measures put in place to avoid a repeat in the future.

The full impact of the global credit crisis hit just prior to the beginning of the peak tourist season creating huge challenges for Ngai Tahu Tourism. However they still managed to deliver a net surplus of $6.4m, (down $2.1m on the previous year) and an operating EBIT ahead of forecast of $5.3m.

Ryman Healthcare continues its long-standing tenure as one of our leading investments and despite the economic environment delivered another strong performance resulting in a 1% increase in share price over June 2008 and dividends of $2.1m.

"While all of our entities have felt the impact of the operating climate, I am proud of how they have responded to the challenges and am confident that with our strong balance sheet we are well positioned for growth when the upturn comes," says Trevor Burt. Ngai Tahu Holdings Group delivered a distribution of just under $22m to Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.

BADDELEY MASTERY

We spied a few comments somewhere that came from a voice from the past - Chef Kent Baddeley. He is one of the countries finest and just a little bit eccentric. Anyway he is blogging here

And he works here and Parehua in Martinborough. Its now on our lists of must do's over the next few months.

His food is always exquisite and artistic - a feast for the palate and to the eyes.

NGAI TAHU STRUGGLES TO HOLD GOOD STAFF

Another one bites the dust.

In ten years, under the barren leadership of Mark Solomon , Ngai Tahu has had seven Ngai Tahu Holding Corp chairs. Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu has had 3 CEO's and Ngai Tahu Holding Corporation has had three CEO's.

Other iwi are laughing fit to kill as Ngai Tahu picks good people but they dont last the distance so they are quickly picked up by other tribes.

And we have also heard that there is considerable concern among some key iwi about the lack of relationship skills withing the top ranks of Ngai Tahu. There are heaps of opportunities out there for iwi but it requires them to work with other iwi to get the economies of scale needed to capitalise on the deals on offer. One described Ngai Tahu's attidude as " bare faced arrogance."
Another suggested to Roarprawn that the tribe was fast losing mana due to their lack of willingness to forge business relationships.
For Ngai Tahu to succeed it needs to ensure that people who are good at building relationships and have sound financial acumen are sitting around the top table and commanding the boardroom. Never before have the tribal elections been so important to our people. They need to reflect on the fragmented leadership of the past, look to new blood and put aside the deep rooted inter family differences.

Our future depends on it.

Kia ora anō tātou

It is with regret that I announce that Richard Coleman has resigned from his position as Chief Executive Ngāi Tahu Seafood (Acting).
Richard has a long history working for Ngāi Tahu. In January 1995 he was appointed as Accountant / Operations Manager for the joint venture, Ngāi Tahu Pacific Fisheries. When the JV was wound up in 1997, Richard joined Ngāi Tahu Seafood and in September 2005, he moved to Ngāi Tahu Holdings as Investment Manager.
Since June 2008, Richard has been Acting Chief Executive of Ngāi Tahu Seafood and brought his usual exceptional passion and commitment to that role. He has led a range of diverse and challenging initiatives with very pleasing outcomes for the business including a revised strategic direction; a new wetfish business model; a supply chain review resulting in recognition as a premium lobster supplier to the export markets; acceptance into the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Beachheads programme; comprehensive systems to manage compliance and H&S risks; and a succession plan in the Bluff lobster fishery allowing young Ngāi Tahu fishers the opportunity to build successful businesses and become the next generation of experienced lobster fishers.
In addition to these achievements and of particular note is that NTS (in tough economic times) recorded its highest trading EBIT, since its inception, in the 2008-09 financial year under Richard's leadership.
Richard's strong leadership and hard work over the past 15 months sees us very well positioned for financial success, wealth creation and growth as we embark on the next exciting stage in the development of the Ngāi Tahu Seafood business.
I'd like to acknowledge Richard's significant contribution to Ngāi Tahu over the last 15 years and wish him, his wife Kate and his three children, all the very best in their next adventure. Richard has always been held in high respect by anyone who has worked with him and he will be hugely missed by all. His last day of work will be 31 January 2010 and closer to that date we will announce details of his poroporoaki.

Trevor Burt
Chair
Ngai Tahu Holdings Corporation

FISHY FRIENDS

We have been watching the Mataitai issue with interest. We have predicted that this is the next Foreshore and Seabed issue.

Now lets go back to the reasons for the fisheries settlement - It was all about putting Maori on an equal footing as per the treaty and giving them an economic share.

Now Maori are saying that Mataitai are being put in place to ensure that local hapu can get a feed of fish. Yip that's what they negotiated with the Crown at the time of the settlement. Can't really argue with that now.

But the fisheries settlement was really all about ensuring that Maori got a slice of the economic fishpie. The Mataitai were a clip on as customary take was enshrined at the time to ensure Maori could take a feed.

So if the Maitaitai are put in places where Maori are actually fishing for profit then that is a simple travesty for two reasons. One it goes against the original intentions of Mataitai which was for small discrete areas for Maori family and secondly it undermines the economic benefits that Maori get from being a big part of the commercial fishing industry.

The Seafood Industry needs all parties to play a part.

But the tectonic plates of rights appear to have shifted and nowhere is that more evident that with Maitaitai.

The simple fact of the matter is if the ultra PC Ministry of Fisheries and the Uber PC department of Conservation continue to support and grant Mataitai the size of sheep stations then there is serious cause for concern and an impact on the economy.

Maitaitai are being used, not to manage fisheries resources, but to lock out commercial interests.
Recreations fishers love Mataitai because the way they see it - it locks out there arch enemy - commercial fishers.

Recreational fishers are the bastards who believe they have all the rights but take no responsibility. For decades they have sat outside the Fisheries management regime and bleated but have done little to contribute to the sustained management of our seafood resources. The recreational fishers groups ( who really hate Maoris and used to be the most racist bunch of pricks around) have formed an unholy alliance with Maori to propagate Mataitai around the country. Venal and hypocritical wankers that they are. And Maori have been taken in - hook, line and sinker.

However ,we understand that some of the finest legal beagles in the Seafood industry reckon the interpretation of the Mataitai regs is flawed and are shaping up to take the fight to the courts.

There are 10 Mataitai in existence and 37 in the pipeline.


This is an issue all New Zealanders should be watching closely. Nothing is surer - it's is going to get very, very ugly.

MATAITAI MIGHT TIE MAORI IN KNOTS

We have it on good authority that commercial fishing interests are considering a legal challenge over Mataitai. These are supposed to be small discreet areas set aside for customary harvest for Maori. Maori have the management authority over these marine areas.

There are two issues. the Mataitai are not so discreet - the areas applied for are getting much larger than the " feed " areas they were originally designed for.

Secondly, there is a groundswell of opinion in the fisheries legal ranks that the legislation has been wrongly interpreted by Maori and that they cannot exclude commercial fishing.

If what we are hearing is correct then we could see a shit fight that is as big as the Foreshore and Seabed debate.

FLOUNDERING AROUND IN A SEA OF SILLINESS

We got a call from Bluff last week from some good old boys who were at a funeral for a bloke we had grown up with - he wasn't much past fifty - so our mortal coil tightened up a bit at the news. RIP Manuel.

Anyway the boys who were at the wake started talking about the fact that one of the captains of the fleet was in a bit of bother, as reported in the ODT

Fishermen have been ordered to carry observers on board their boats to check to see if they are catching Hector's Dolphins in their nets. A couple refused to comply and now they are facing court action.

We reckon our old mate and CE of the Federation of Commercial fishermen, Pete Dawson sums the issue up succinctly ( Pete is the king of succinctness)

Federation of Commercial Fishermen chief executive Peter Dawson said the ministry's move to prosecute was "bloody minded" given the letters instructing fishermen to take observers failed to explain fishermen's rights or address safety concerns.

"As a consequence [these fishermen] stuck to their guns and face getting a criminal conviction."

Observers spent 963 days at sea and did not see a Hector's dolphin death, yet the ministry was going ahead with prosecutions, he said.

All it did was raise the levels of antagonism between the ministry and fishermen and put fishermen already facing hard times in an even tougher position.

"Education is far better than putting the boot in."

We agree, now the Bluff vessel in question is neither big nor flash - its about 50 feet and while observers on big mid size trawlers need to take a cut lunch and a compass to get to the aft end of a boat - on the seized vessel in question, the net drums are within spitting distance of the focs'le. ( the little house bit where the skipper spends his day. )

So this is going to be an argument about safety.

Now we love Hectors - they look a lot like Tuna so its a fair guess they taste pretty good but we have in our relentless battle to protect all Charismatic Mega Fauna, given these cute wee guys more protection than we give kids from sexual predators.

That's just daft. And for boats like the one MAF has seized, having someone on board, purely so they can have a "look see" when you are in heavy southern seas would be a bloody nightmare.

We reckon that these fishermen, if paid a smallish bounty for every Hectors dolphin they see and photograph or video ( remember they can plot their exact location), would give us a far better idea of their population and their habits.

Costs are high enough for these particular fishermen and we agree with Pete - education would be far better than this silliness.

MAF has far bigger fish to fry - like rooting out the organised crime that is pillaging our coast of paua but hell it is easy to pick off a couple of small time trawlermen than gang members isn't it? And the environmental and economic damage of paua poaching is quantifiable while there is no hard evidence that these trawlers are having a disastrous effect on the southern Hector dolphin population.

These two boats have dared to do what the rest of the fleet wanted to but were too scared to because of the financial consequences. It is time for some intervention and a new way of thinking. That way we might just take some sensible steps to protect these tasty wee marine flyers instead of making a small human segment of the seafood industry an endangered species.

RAKIURA BOYS FLY HIGH

Its good to see young men do well and there are two businesses down south that are worthy of some promotion.

They are Rakiura Helicopters operated by Zane Smith ( he's a cuz) (left)
and Stewart Island Helicopters
operated by Jason Wright.(above right

and of course BB's son works as an instructor at Helipro
out of Paraparamu. (above left)


Proud of our Southern Ngai Tahu Rakiura chopper boys we are.. real proud...