Dutch fishing company Parlevliet en van der Plas has ended its troubled Australian operation, bringing its trawler Geelong Star (Dirk Dirk) back from Down Under.
Pelagic vessel Geelong Star will now steam from Australia to Namibia, where its registration will be changed as it is flagged back to the Netherlands, resuming its original Dirk Dirk name.
According to a statement by the company, it regrets that it has not been able to continue to operation and states that a failure to reach a suitable financial agreement with local partners in Australia is the reason for withdrawing from the venture. Geelong Star has fished for mackerel, horse mackerel and redbait during its time in Australia.
‘We regret that we are not able to continue this fishing operation, as pelagic stocks there are very healthy and fisheries management in Australia is one of the most sustainable in the world,’ P&P’s spokesman said.
‘We thank the European crew for their tremendous efforts. They made this project possible under difficult conditions, far away from home.’
The company’s venture has been troubled from the outset when factory trawler Margiris was initially flagged to Australia, resulting in an immediate outburst of hysterics from Greenpeace and other groups that triggered legislation rushed through to ban what were termed over 130 metre supertrawlers – essentially legislation tailored to outlaw this particular ship from Australian waters.
Margiris returned to Europe after its brief Australian adventure and was replaced by the smaller 95 metre Dirk Dirk, but the controversy didn’t stop there and the operation has been under a constant management and media microscope.
Now that the operation has been brought to an end, Geelong Star will steam to Walvis Bay for the handover to the Dutch flag before heading home.
Over the years, Dirk Dirk has been under Dutch, German, Faroese and now Australian registries, and is now back under the Dutch flag with its original KW-174 registration.
