For the first time, the Ministry of Fisheries in the Northern Division now has an alumini­um boat to handle its surveillance work.

Ministry of Fisheries senior tech­nical officer Reginald Caine, during the hand-over of boat in Labasa, said the new boat would be a lot saf­er for the officers and protect them from getting wet when they go out to police fishing grounds.

“This 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.

“This boat will also be used to monitor the fishermen and what catch they have in their boats.”

The new boat can carry 10 peo­ple and is compatible with the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) standards.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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