New Zealand tuna fishing company, Sanford Ltd, is urging the country’s government to better manage how tuna purse seiners record and handle their oil waste, after it was fined by a US court. The company is calling on the government to define the term “machinery spaces,†as set out in New Zealand fishing regulations.
In August, one of Sanford’s chief engineers was found guilty for failing to properly maintain the oil record book on the tuna vessel San Nikunau and for obstructing US Coast Guard inspections. In the case, which resulted in a USD 1.9 million fine, questions were raised about the company’s procedures for managing and recording bilge waste in “machinery spaces†on its vessels. Sanford had said it was operating according to its understanding of the national regulations concerning “machinery spaces.â€
The company continues to fish for skipjack tuna in the Pacific Ocean, but its vessels are no longer landing at US ports or moving in US waters.