My introduction to the fishing industry was when I married Craig. Our accountant said to me “Leave the fishing to Craig and you and I will do the rest”.
I came from a nursing background and was originally from the North Island.
That was 30 years ago and I’m still doing the book work for our fishing business as well as our barge business, “D’Urville Crossings”.
Things have become simpler over the years as far as the clerical side of things go – what with relevant computer accounting software – but there just seems to be a lot more of it now.
When we first got married (before the kids came along) Craig and I both dragged for bait and I went on the odd fishing trip but seasickness did limit me from going too far off shore.
Because of where we lived, that meant that I taught our children through their primary school years with the Correspondence School.
With quota cuts always looming, the last straw for us was losing Blue Cod quota that we hadn’t even finished paying for; so we sold our quota as a package but retained the right to fish it for the next 10 years. This did mean a change in Licensed Fish Receiver and they no longer came in to French Pass to pick up our fish. Craig or I now had to transport our own fish to meet them in Rai Valley.
At the end of the 10 years we had to reassess how the fishing was going for us as fish prices seemed to be going down or not changing at all but costs were increasing.
It was at this time we had the pleasure of meeting Donna Wells and so was the beginning of the next stage for us.
We commenced exporting our fish to the Sydney Fish Market which meant we could catch less quantity of fish but get a far better return.
With our children no longer at home, this freed me up for transporting our fish to Nelson on Monday mornings – a 4am start from French Pass.
Exporting meant having to take the lows with the highs but it was the best decision we made.
We continue to export fish but this year we have been included with the recreational fishers to be excluded from our fishing grounds from the 1st September through to the 20th December. This has definitely impacted on our fishing.
To add salt to the wound we may be shut out of our fishing grounds permanently.
So we wait….
http://www.durvilleislandgetaway.co.nz/durville-island-holiday-home-pgs/durv
By Donna Wells
FinestKind Limited
137 Vickerman Street,
Port Nelson, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 545 6964
Mobile: +64 27 243 1282
Email: donna@finestkind.co.nz
Web: www.finestkind.co.nz
More Women in Seafood
Women in Seafood January 2018
January 2018 and time to press pause and reflect on the women in seafood we have profiled to date. Each and every one of these ladies has a role and a place in the seafood industry and these stories need to be heard. It has been great to be able to promote them and the many…
LYNISE ANNE KIREKA (EDEN)
It’s fair to say fishing is in my blood. As a kid I grew up around the wharf in Greymouth. I was known as ‘Spud’- I still am. I have great memories of playing on Dad’s boat (FV Chance) whitebaiting in the lagoon, playing pretend at the wheel, pinching the stash of juicy fruit…
JEAN KIBBLEWHITE
Jean Kibblewhite and Antonia Workman run the office of Splashzone Marine Limited and have been on the job for years. Toni, who came on board with an extensive background and experience in the fishing industry, 25 years of office work and training with Wellington Trawling and a clear understanding of species, the QMS, MHR’s, ACE…
Ali Undorf-Lay
ALI UNDORF-LAY I am passionate about the sea and keen to take the mystery out of what happens when a vessel disappears behind the horizon line and starts catching fish. If people know where we work and why we do things the way we do, and that our industry is science based and sophisticated, it’s…
Renee Wilson
Renee Wilson In February 2014, I saw an ad for a temporary role recruiting fishing crew for Sealord. I had recently left my job as a Nurse and was looking to sink my teeth into an operational and dynamic job that would keep me on the edge of my seat and offer some development. This…
Jodie Campbell
JODIE CAMPBELL, OWNER AND PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, JANSENCAMPBELL LIMITED It is a true privilege to be profiled alongside such amazing and successful women in our seafood industry. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this! I grew up in the America Heartland, surrounded by cornfields, baseball and John Deer tractors. It was literally as…
Ellen Kibblewhite – Fisher
In the summer of 2012 I had my first taste of Cray fishing off our family farm, Whangaehu in the Hawkes Bay and caught rock lobster destined for the Chinese market. Launching our 9m alloy cat Lucy-c with 500hp was exciting, backing the old Ford county down the side of a reef with rocks…
Leonie Noble – Woman in Seafood
Championing the role of Australian women in seafood From Invisible Farmer Leonie Noble is currently the national president of Australia’s Women in Seafood Board (WINSC) and has been involved in the rock lobster industry in the Midwest and Abrolhos regions in Western Australia for 35 years. Leonie has a passion for the seafood…
Betty Pinkney – Fisher
FISHING INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT I have been involved for over 50 years in the Fishing Industry with my husband Malcolm. We started our fishing career in Auckland at the top of the Auckland Harbour on flounder and mixed fish. Our next venture was to spend several months of the year cray fishing in the late…
Katherine Short – Terramoana Limited
PROFILE KATHERINE SHORT TERRA MOANA LIMITED – NEW ZEALAND Coming from a maritime family, I have been in, on, and under the water all my life. Although I loved living in Switzerland where I worked for WWF International being away from the ocean was too hard and so I came home. Having spent nearly 17…