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The award is named after the late Peter Richard ‘Squax’ Squires, a skipper from Te Anau who lost his life on the notorious Greymouth Bar in 2000.
Crewman Roy Connor, 26, of Nelson, also drowned when their fishing boat, Koromiko was rolled over by a wave and swamped while attempting to cross the bar.
The Koromiko was washed ashore, and the Squires’ family donated it to the NMIT New Zealand School of Fisheries, now called the International Maritime Institute of New Zealand.
As experts assessed the boat to be beyond repair, it was sold, and the proceeds put into funding the yearly award.
Chris Lordan, tutor for Maritime at NMIT, oversaw organizing the presentation on 30 September. He was pleased with how it went.
“The presentation went really well on Friday over morning tea,” he said.
“About fifteen Maritime staff and students were present, along with a representative from Australian Longline Ltd who employed the awarded student.”
Find out more about our Maritime programmes.(external link)