State-of-the-Art Vessel Providing Aquaculture Net Cleaning Services
Aunt Mali would be proud.
She is the namesake of the new, state-of-the-art aquaculture support vessel built and configured to do in-situ net cleaning service for the aquaculture industry by Miawpukek First Nation (MFN)’s Netukulink Fisheries on Newfoundland’s south coast.
Aunt Mali “was an elder in the community that’s no longer with us, but that name, it felt very fitting because Aunt Mali was the mother, the grandmother and great grandmother of many of the mariners in the community in the past and currently,” said Shayne McDonald, executive director of Netukulink Fisheries Ltd.
“She was quite proud of the Miawpukek First Nation entering the commercial fishery in the late 90s.”
Aunt Mali, who was McDonald’s grandmother, worked as a cleaning person in area schools from the 1970s to the 1990s, recalled McDonald.
“At one point the school board acquired a new floor cleaning machine which was state-of-the-art at the time… but the cleaning staff had a bit of a time with it. It would spin people around, but not Aunt Mali. She controlled the machine, not the machine controlling her and that’s a little bit of the oral history in the community. So given her history as the matriarch of many mariners in the community and given her role as a cleaner in the schools and given the function of the boat in the marine environment employing 30 people in a cleaning role, we thought it was very fitting. Her family and the community are pretty proud of the boat and its namesake.”
The 49-foot long vessel is a “first of its kind in Newfoundland,” said McDonald. “Right from the design phase through to the general arrangement, to construction, it’s designed to be a purpose-built vessel,” he said.
Designed by TriNav Marine Design and built by Harbour Grace Ocean Enterprises for Netukulink Fisheries Ltd., the Aunt Mali features an ROV (remote operated vehicle) net cleaner, the FNC8, to clean the aquaculture nets from a remote-control station onboard the vessel, with a 24-tm crane for lifting the ROV net cleaning machine in and out of the cages.
The Aunt Mali also has forward and rear thrusters for maneuverability. The net-cleaning ROV machine aboard the Aunt Mali is state-of-the-art and compliments the boat well, making it fully equipped to do net cleaning, said McDonald, adding Netukulink Fisheries Ltd. “are the first in North America to acquire and use this type of machine.”
McDonald said Netukulink Fisheries Ltd. built the vessel based on an engagement with MOWI Canada East to do net cleaning in what they call the management system in Bays West.
“We have the arrangement to provide net cleaning in partnership with Newfoundland Aqua Service, an industry support company” who are located in a nearby community, said McDonald.
“We have had decades of cooperative work and collaboration with them,” he said. “It’s a good thing for our company, an indigenous company and a local company to combine forces to provide that cleaning.”
The Aunt Mali has been in use since Netukulink Fisheries Ltd. took delivery in June and is performing quite well at the aquaculture site in Bays West for MOWI Canada East, said McDonald. “The machine has proven to be quite capable.”
The vessel is crewed by local crewmembers and captains from the Coast of Bays area and the MFN reserve, said McDonald. There are two crew who operate the vessel. “One of the crew captains is from the MFN so we’re quite proud to have a First Nations captain aboard the vessel and taking a lead role in net cleaning services,” he said.
McDonald said MFN “strongly believes aquaculture must be sustainable, environmentally friendly, benefit Indigenous communities and benefit coastal communities” adding it was with that outlook “that we decided to enter the aquaculture industry as in-situ net cleaning services. It is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to clean aquaculture nets. In discussions with MOWI we have become versed with sustainable aquaculture and strong environmentally protocols. We feel it’s a good fit.”
McDonald said the MFN have “made it clear to the aquaculture industry we’re going to be playing a watchdog role and that we’re gong to be voiceful and active in holding them accountable in terms of environmental stewardship. The reality is we’ve lived adjacent to aquaculture for 30 some years in terms of the waters adjacent to our territories. Over the years, we’ve experienced both the good and the bad and we never fail coming forward and being voiceful when we observe, based on incurable and tangible evidence, that the industry is not being mindful… (it’s a) little bit of a balancing act but we think we’re well-poised and well-equipped to do both.”
The MFN has been involved in the commercial fisheries under aboriginal communal fishing rights since the 1990s. With 22 commercial fishing operations in NAFO Region 3PS, fishing multiple species such as crab, groundfish, sea cucumber and whelk, Netukulink Fisheries Ltd. is one of the largest Indigenous owned and operated fishing companies in Atlantic Canada, said McDonald.
“The move into aquaculture diversifies our operations so we’re not only dependant on the wild fisheries. We’re generating revenue from the aquaculture industry too.
Located in Conne River, the Miawpukek First Nation has more than 2,000 members, including the 1,000 who live on Reserve lands.
