Fuel economy

Switching from trawling to anchor seining has cut Motueka skipper Ken Franks' fuel bill by more than half.

Since converting his 15m boat the FV Vanguard from a trawler to an anchor seiner in 2008 his catches sizes have increased too, and the quality of the fish is better. That means higher profit margins for Mr Franks at a time when rising fuel prices are forcing others in the industry to think about tying their boats up.

Mr Franks is now encouraging other trawler skippers to do the same.