Union: 'Atrocious' treatment leads to ship jumping

A fishing union has rebuked immigration and labour officials for allowing vulnerable foreign crew to face "atrocious" pay and conditions while fishing in New Zealand.

It has been revealed that 152 foreign fishermen have illegally jumped ship in New Zealand during the past year.

Sixty-two, mainly Vietnamese and Indonesians, deserted their ships in South Island ports in the past two months alone, prompting Associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor to warn that the Government would consider banning foreign crew from fishing in New Zealand.

Immigration Service spokeswoman Kathryn O'Sullivan said most had absconded in Lyttelton and Timaru.

New Zealand Fishing Industry Guild South Island administration officer Louis Hart said he was opposed to foreign crew jumping ship, but it was not surprising they came ashore given the appalling conditions many endured at sea.

Mr Hart had been on board numerous foreign boats and said living conditions and hygiene standards were often "socially unacceptable in our country".

Crew were made to work long hours and sometimes paid less than US$200 ($285) a month.

Some nationalities were subordinated and mistreated while at sea, he said.

Mr Hart said he only had anecdotal evidence to back up his claims but immigration and labour officials had been aware of the issues for many years and failed to act. It was outrageous for them to now "take the moral high ground" towards the workers for deserting their ships.

"They're perfectly aware that a large number of the 2500 employment permits for foreign fishing crew they sign off are for vulnerable fishermen from the poorest countries in the world.

"They're housed in the most atrocious of conditions and they're paid like dogs. The Immigration Service can't claim moral outrage when they jump off the boats."

Mr Hart said he hoped a Labour Department investigation into foreign fishing crews' conditions and pay would offer conclusive proof of breaches of labour and immigration law. But he said this would depend on the motivation and will of investigators.

- NZPA