The Mahia Peninsula project aims to improve VHF and mobile phone coverage in the area following tragic fishing deaths

“If we had cellular and FM coverage down there at that point and we couldn’t get either, we would have immediately said, ‘Hey, there’s definitely something wrong here and we need to do something.'”

Faber said the communications blackspot cost the fishermen their lives.

“Absolutely yes, we would have raised the alarm much earlier,” he said.

Which is a big concern for Faber.

“That was the worst part of the whole thing because we were definitely the last ones to see them. Could we have done more? Should we have done more? “The conditions were not good,” he said.

And Faber has spoken to the families of the three deceased men about the project.

“They’re excited about all the positives that come out of this…It’s just nice to hear that there are some positives that will hopefully prevent something like this from happening again,” he said.

To prevent this, a group of local fishing clubs and iwi, the Sport Fishing Council, LegaSea and Rocket Lab have come together to improve communication.

They want to install a cell phone tower costing about $1.5 million and an FM radio coverage expansion on the Mahia Peninsula and are calling on the government to help with its regional infrastructure fund.

“To prevent something like this from happening again, we really need input from the government to build better infrastructure for communications so we don’t have to see people dying on the water like we have,” said Chris Scott from LegaSea.

“We want to ensure that there are safer fishing measures for recreational and commercial fishermen too. This is a commercial hotspot – we want fewer tragedies on the water,” he said.

Mike Plant from the Sport Fishing Council is leading the project and hopes the government will support it.

“If we can expand VHF coverage to include a high point on the Rocket Lab site, it would benefit all users, both those on land and at sea,” Plant said.

“The local iwi is also interested here – but it is up to everyone in this area to have better communication options. We would like this to inspire other areas of New Zealand that have the same concerns and issues,” he said.

It’s also a concern that Rocket Lab shares; Morgan Connaughton said his team is keen to get the project off the ground.

“We have been involved in some search and rescue operations on the Mahia Peninsula where we can use our communications systems and cameras to help search for people, but this is just one operation and we are not designed to do it support these efforts.

“That’s why we support LegaSea and the team there who are calling for better communication on the peninsula,” she said.

The group has requested a meeting with Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith to discuss the urgent need to improve FM and mobile phone coverage for the Mahia Peninsula.

The minister told RNZ he was aware of the matter and was seeking further advice.

– RNZ