Betty Pinkney – Fisher

Betty Pinkney (1936 – 2023)

Updated 2024

With deepest respect, we advise that our lovely Betty passed away on 20 October 2023. Kohukohu won’t be the same.  Betty passed away peacefully with all her family at her side.

Thank you for all you did to serve this industry, Betty; to make a path which made it somehow easier for others to follow.  One of our platinum ladies, we salute you.

In memory of Betty Pinkney.

FISHING INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT

I have been involved for over 50 years in the Fishing Industry with my husband Malcolm. We started our fishing career in Auckland at the top of the Auckland Harbour on flounder and mixed fish. Our next venture was to spend several months of the year cray fishing in the late 1960’s at Pourerere Beach in the Hawkes Bay. The first year we cooked the crays and sold them to the fisheries in Napier. The next 3 years we had an export licenced shed  and tailed the fish.  The tails were exported to America. 

During our fishing career I have sometimes  been Malcolm’s  full time crew gillnetting for mixed fish out of Houhora on Rosina  our 8m boat, then  we fished for rig and flounder in open 6m  boats on the Hokianga Harbour. 

All the time I did all the bookwork for the fisheries and raised 3 children. In 1990 we launched our 12m boat Roulette into the Hokianga and I was  privileged to name her. Over the years I have done trips hawking fish to the public and filletted fish into 10kg cartons for wholesale distribution.

We had a fitch farm for a few years and fed them minced fish guts etc in their diet.  We stopped actively fishing in 2007 and since then have serviced and done paper work for Roulette and our flounder dories.