Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand

The customer

With 15,000 kilometres of coastline to patrol and 4.4 million square kilometres of waters under its jurisdiction, the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) plays a very important role in maintaining a sustainable New Zealand fisheries. The compliance business of the ministry is responsible for compliance and enforcement duties which ensure that those who use the resources understand and conform to
the relevant legislation ensuring future sustainability of the resource.

The challenge

For fishery officers, being able to contact the national communications centre (COMCEN) and other officers out in the field is an essential part of their daily operations. When officers are on occasion required to operate alone in remote locations their radio is more than just an effective management tool, the radios help ensure officer safety.

Fishery officer safety and radio coverage were the main concerns that drove the Ministry to explore new communications solutions and change from their previous UHF conventional network.

The solution

Tait provided a customised solution enabling fishery officers to use their existing Tait conventional hand portables to access the national TeamTalk's UHF trunked radio network. The solution comprises two vehicle based radios - a Tait TM8110 conventional mobile radio and a Tait trunked mobile linked together via a customised crossband Interface.

The conventional signal is carried from the hand portable to the TM8110 mobile in their vehicle, which then repeats the signal via the Tait trunked mobile, providing direct and simple access to TeamTalk's network. This solution extends coverage for officers working away from their vehicles, providing coverage across approximately 95 per cent of New Zealand's North and South islands.

A duress panic button has also been programmed into the portables which connect back to COMCEN in Wellington. Combining this with the GPS location system in the fleet vehicles, health and safety standards have been improved for field officers. The officers can now quickly contact COMCEN in an emergency with the duress button on the radios. COMCEN can then identify the officer's location and respond accordingly.

Brad Dannefaerd, the National Co-ordinator of the Officer Safety Programme from MFish says, "To have virtually nationwide coverage which officers are able to access from their vehicles or through their portables out of their vehicles was essential for the type of role that fishery officers perform. Tait was chosen because the Ministry of Fisheries required a long-term strategic partner that would be able to meet the Ministry's current and future needs. Our past experience with Tait was also a deciding factor."