Paying respect and getting some jewels

Is it really "fast-tracking" or "accelerating" when it's basically restarting some of the 100-odd projects you iced a year ago, putting the construction sector into a nosedive? www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

My Picks ’n Mixes & Chorus today: Christchurch ED doctors plead for help over staffing, funding & space shortages; 'Patients leaving EDs after many hours & dropping dead in carpark'; Underfunding chosen to keep mortgage rates low #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/choosing-m...

Back in my happy place

You mean like the University you studied, the support you got, the social housing that was available at the time, the airlane you used to go places, the health system that was available to you and now you want to take away from everyone else you tosser! www.1news.co.nz/2025/01/24/s...

One of the reasons I decided to stay in NZ for good in the 90s was that the PM demoted a ministry of fisheries that could not proved he paid for his part of the bill after having dinner with industry leaders. Today something like this goes unanswered 🤬 www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Remember this? Ah, those were the days. #nzpol

China is dumping peaches into the NZ market resulting in Watties dropping contracts with kiwi growers Also Fonterra continues to charge kiwi consumers more than their overseas customers Time to review our approach to international trade, so kiwis are always coming out as the loosers? #nzpol

Picks n’ Mixes: Kāinga Ora's stock is falling & many of its homes are boarded up; ECan votes 9-7 to declare nitrate emergency; Govt is pocketing >50% of the cash from its $100 tourism levy; 1-in-3 young NZ men say that ‘gender equality has gone too far.’ #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/kainga-ora...

trickle down economics trickle down economic trickle down economi trickle down econom trickle down econo trickle down econ trickle down eco trickle down ec trickle down e trickle down trickle dow trickle do trickle d trickle trickl trick

Fixing the cost of living and “we are going from growth”… yea right www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

Very fitting that I chose the day of my 60th b’day to ride 50km ride the Sado (masochistic?) Peninsula in Southern Japan. Wonderful place, yet very hilly, hot and with more tunnels than one needs in a lifetime. But yeah an amazing bday with a fantastic dinner at the local Riokan. Grateful to life 🙏🏽

While I'm not a believer, I was educated by Franciscans and Salesians priests that were deeply involved with the “theology of liberation”… one was executed in our school yard (in front of us) by the anticommunists league. I support this type of positions for your faith www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

It should be so simple as this… (in the door of “spot cafe” in Matsuyama, Japan)

Absolute sombre day here in Hiroshima. The images and words I’ve seen at the memorial museum will never leave my memory

“Every MP is entitled to their financial affairs, but when secrecy ensues and conflicts of interest are so blatantly ignored and disrespected, and the public interest forfeited for a kleptocracy, we know this is a very, very corrupt government at play”. open.substack.com/pub/mountain...

I worked for a fishing company (before working for governments) in the past and that would be considered a conflict of interest… this guy’s family has 25 houses and he makes decisions on housing and capital gains tax… and that is ok? Geez

Well-prepared Kiwis emigrate in large numbers, while low-wage immigrants on temporary visas come in. They work for little money (what NZ businesses want) and pay ridiculous rents (what landlors want)... exactly what the constituency of the NZ National Party wants... and yes... fuck the rest.

When you take beers to a BBQ or other social gathering at someone's house and don't drink them all, it is considered rude to take the leftover beers home. #NewZealandValues

The whole tuna industry, the much-needed income of most Pacific islands, rests on the fishers’ shoulders. We need to offer them respect, fair regulations, and equitable compensation, not pity. www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/9/...

"I'm done with pessimism. I am done with fear. What we need to do is look at optimism and those who are trying to actually solve problems," www.reuters.com/world/china/...

Imagine how shit the NZ economic situation (and present government!) is that even the company that the present minister of fisheries used to run some years ago, is closing some of its production lines 😳 www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

My work in this paper focused on the “how” framed by existing technologies; the “who” remains a construct based on UNCLOS and international agreements. Yet the essential “why” is still, to an extent, controversial and speculative. So let's test them. www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/9/...

Surprise… Surprise The Government is increasing privacy for taxpayers in a move being criticised as shielding the rich and powerful. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

5 Research scientist positions! Apply and work with us in beautiful Western Australia on all things shark depredation, fisheries electronic monitoring, freshwater habitat enhancement, stock assessments, and mollusc fisheries search.jobs.wa.gov.au/page.php?pag...

Following my previous post on the opportunities for MCS in MPAs in the ABNJ, this entry focuses on the current challenges for MCS in the potential surveillance of MPAs in the ABNJ. www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/8/...

Way too old and surely not smart enough… but this is a peak Ichthyology PhD topic.

Thanks to the Labour and National governments over the last four decades. This falls directly on you two! I can't expect differently from the National Party (of landlords)... but Labour, you had an absolute majority, you could have changed the speculation setup thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin...

A country in recession, people feeling hopeless and emigrating, public health and education in tatters, labour rights degraded, cost of leaving soaring, infrastructure investment stopped, fragile critical transportation (ghost ferries), and so on… but Utes are safe from the “scourge” of tax 🙄… FFS

Following my last post on the existing MPAs in the ABNJ, this entry focuses on the present opportunities of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) tools for potential surveillance in MPAs in ABNJ. www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/8/...

Not that is ALL bad with bottom trawling 🙄 www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

The country is on track, the economy is doing so well, and these resignations confirm the upwards trajectory of public confidence in the present government… yeah right 🙄 www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

I think there is merit in presenting my findings, as while we discuss MPAs in ABNJ as a totally novel concept, they are not… What is novel is the framework in which they will exist under the BBNJ Agreement. www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/8/...

Proud of living in a small community (and proud dad on top of it)

“Part of the problem, is that the country's proud "clean and green" brand is colliding head-on with the reality of cruise tourism, where ships are known for their carbon footprint and waste” And biosecurity treats, invasive species, fouling, ferry traffic disruption… www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedeta...

Interesting side event happening today for anyone attending the #BBNJ #PrepCom2 in NewYork 🌊 "BBNJ in Practice: Enforcing and Managing Marine Protected Areas in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction" 🗓️ 27 August 2025 🕐 13:15–14:30 (EST) 🇺🇳 Conference Room 2, UN Headquarters, New York #UN #ABNJ #MPAs 1/6

At this side event, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime #UNODC will present its new issue paper on surveillance and law enforcement concerning high seas MPAs, written by Efthymios Papastavridis and @atzanakopoulos.bsky.social (and @franciscoblaha.bsky.social drafted large parts of s2). 3/6

Having grown up in Argentina in the 70s-80s I had my own experience with a totalitarian regime and a made up war to sustain it, yet I wasn’t prepared to be as emotionally moved as i have been with this podcasts series. Tough listening but absolutely recommend. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

The social implications of fishing must be addressed despite our capacity limits; ignoring them undermines our earned sustainability claims.. As James Baldwin said: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”. www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/8/...

A home owning democracy is a more resilient society than one made up of alienated, itinerant, young people. Unless we sincerely believe gated communities, a serving class of tenant peasantry and an elite living off unfair and unearned economic gains is sustainable, we need to embrace change.

For decades I been challenging regulators with a simple question: “how do you expect to effectively regulate what you don’t understand” and in my view all trainings on Port Sate Measures need to include the understanding of how vessels operate, for that nothing better than to spend time on a board

Best ever fern pot in the world. Ford Raptor ultra macho type truck vs nature and time? No match… nature wins always

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”. James Baldwin

Always stoked to see one of my pictures on the cover of a publication, yet this one confronts a poignant reality in our industry and region. I'm thankful to SPC not only for portraying one of my favourite pictures, but also for interviewing me for this research. www.spc.int/DigitalLibra...

Ultimately, the effectiveness of high seas MPAs hinges not only on ambitious legal commitments but also on the political will to monitor, enforce, and share responsibility for ocean stewardship. My contribution was drafting section II (MDAs used for MPAs). www.franciscoblaha.info/blog/2025/8/...

Thanks, Efthymios Papastavridis and Antonios Tzanakopoulos (Oxford University), for acknowledging my contribution in section 2 to this very relevant paper to be discussed at the BBNJ event next week papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Warn? Bollicks! They rely on it. The whole world of (cynical) investors is buying the dip + holding on for dear life, believing there is always a bailout for asset owners, but not for workers, who always pay PAYE tax & GST, & never get anywhere near (lightly or 0%) taxed income from capital gains.

1/7 With all due respect, to assume that "Narco-subs that escape radar detection are being used to move narcotics through the Pacific Islands to Australia and New Zealand' based on finding an obviously very abandoned wreck somewhere in Solomon or PNG, is a stretch. www.rnz.co.nz/internationa...