"This boat was specifically chosen and refurbished to be a training vessel to create employment opportunities for young people in the far north.
"With three cabins and nine bunks, the Hikurangi can take up to two extra people on every excursion, giving young people in the regions an opportunity to experience a career in the fishing industry," Rawlinson said.
He has been fishing in the far north for 25 years and which is where a lot of RMD Marine's harvesting is undertaken.
During the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Rawlinson, along with Bay Packers (part-owned by Moana New Zealand) and Ngāti Ranginui Fisheries, were kept busy customary fishing for local communities and hapu.
"The need was there, people couldn't go out and collect for themselves, so we helped out where we could during that difficult time," Rawlinson said.
"I even bought a chiller truck so that they could safely cart the fish in a temperature-controlled environment."
Over his many years working in the far north, Rawlinson said he had seen the need for better employment opportunities for young people.
"Poor job availability in the regions often presents young people there with a choice of moving to cities or staying and facing unfulfilling careers. And for some, it means no jobs at all.
Rawlinson said RMD Marine was working alongside local hapū to get young people aboard the Hikurangi and give them the chance to see if being a fisher for them.
"I've got the capability and the capacity to do it, and I wanna do it. If they don't like it, that's fine; if they do like it, there may be a job for them."
As a nod to their own whakapapa as a Māori fishing whānau, the Rawlinson whānau have added a kowhaiwhai design to the Hikurangi, a combination of mangopare (hammerhead sharks) and ngaru (waves), he said.
"This design represents the harmony between their ocean environment, relationships with iwi and hapū and commercial relationships like Moana New Zealand.
The Hikurangi has been kitted out with the latest in marine technology to give the people working and training onboard the best experience and working conditions possible.
Rawlinson said his son Andre will be the engineer and skipper onboard the Hikurangi.
"I've got the capability now to make dreams come true for some people who might want to be in the marine industry because there's not just fishing, there are engineering and electrical and all sorts of stuff that make ships move through the water."
Moana New Zealand GM Inshore, Mark Ngata, said Moana New Zealand does not own any of its vessels, so it was "imperative" to partner with businesses like RMD Marine that aligned with their values of kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, whakapapa and whakatipuranga.
"RMD Marine is an outstanding example of this. They are a business that we can stand proudly and humbly beside as they continue to excel at navigating the ever-changing waters of the fishing industry.
"RMD Marine has come a long way since they started from scratch in 1988, and we know they have a long, prosperous future ahead of them.
"We are proud of what they have achieved, how they have gone about achieving it and importantly, we're proud to have them as part of our Moana whānau."
