Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 10, 1 October 1995 — Loan fund recipient fishes for niehe markets [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Loan fund recipient fishes for niehe markets

bv Patrick Johnston For the average lundlubber the work of a fisherman might appear to be a low-tech, relatively uncomplicated affair. But for the folks at Oceantronics ine., commercial fishing is a highly involved and increasingly technical operation and they are developing the kind of equipment the industry needs to take it into the next eentury.

Oceantronics is a Honolulu retailer and manufacturer specializing in eommercial fishing equipment and eommunications. This year it received a loan from OHA's Native Hawaiian Loan Fund. The business is owned by Oiinda Amtsberg and run with the support of her husband Fritz, their three children and a small technieal staff. It offers a wide range of eommercial fishing products and customer services - from hooks and line to position-tracking radio buoys. Oeeantronics also designs and manufactures tracking devices and sells and repairs land mohile radio systems. The Amtsbergs bought Oceantronics four-and-a-half

years ago after several years running a commercial fishing business - Fritz fished while Oiinda stayed on land and managed the business. The company was profitable but Fritz was away at sea for more than two thirds of the year. "When we got married I was spending too mueh time at sea," Fritz explains. "That type of relationship is the opposite of what we have now. Now we are together every day." Taking over Oceantronics offered Fritz and Olinda a

ehanee to spend more time together and gave Fritz the opportunity to use some of the knowledge he gained at sea selling and manufacturing fishing-related equipment. 01inda takes care of administrative and payroll concerns while Fritz handles sales and production matters. Backing up Fritz's fishing experience is a background in aerospace technology picked up while designing military satellites in the military.

How could high-tech communications savvy and commercial fishing experience complement eaeh other? Anyone who has been 1,000 miles out to sea laying down miles of fishing line ean tell you. One product Fritz has put together is a tracking system to help commercial fishermen locate broken off sections of fishing line. Typically, commercial fishermen will lay down about 40 miles of fishing line, line that sometimes gets cut by sharks, strong currents or inconsiderate fishermen. In Amtsberg's system, these lines are supported by buoys with lights and radio beacons or microprocessors on them. When a fisherman loses a line he ean find it easily by contacting the buoy using a eommunications device on his boat.

He has developed two versions of this tracking system: one uses a direction finder radio whieh keys into the lost line using a radio transmitter on the buoy; the other uses a specially designed microprocessor placed on the buoy, and sophisticated telecommunications equipment including satellites, to show fishermen exactly where the line is. It also tells the temperature of the water at the buoy location, helping fishermen determine whether fish are likely to aggregate there. A tracking system he developed for the National Oeeanie and Atmospheric Administration was the progenitor of the buoy system, whieh he assembles with his staff at their Sand Island site. He has worked closely with Bill Jansen and his Kailua-based engineering company,

Makago, developing the microprocessor. "I am the project engineer," Fritz says. "I will tell Jansen what I want the buoy to do. He designs the control system that makes it do it, and we assemble it." Manufacturing has heeome an integral part of Oceantronics business and one the Amtsbergs want to build on in the future. Fritz says there are two reasons for this. "First of all, I'd rather create than sell. Also, it allows us to expand into areas where the competition isn't so stiff so we ean get a better profit margin." Fritz points out his low overhead costs allow him to compete with larger hightech companies, an advantage he has when bidding for government contracts.

The Amtsbergs are banking on niehe market electronics to be their ticket through what is turning into a very difficult period for loeal retailers. The arrival of Mainland chains and catalogues selling high volumes of discounted goods, including fishing equipment, has dealt a heavy financial blow to businesses that can't afford such a low profit margin on the products they sell. Fritz says his problems are compounded by customers that eome to his shop seeking the kind of information never provided in discount shops and catalogues, spend over an hour talking about what they need - then go back to the cheaper places to buy it.

"Then they eome back to me to ask how to make it work," says Fritz. But service is one of Oceantronic's strong points and not something they plan to abandon in the name of K-Mart style profitability. "I think one of the highlights of our business is our service and caring for our customers," says 01inda, "We treat everyone like family." Oceantronics is located at 5 Sand Island Access Road, Building 920 and ean be reached at 536-2207. For more information about OHA's Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund eall 594-1888.

Olinda and Fritz Amtsberg inside Oceantronics. Photo by Patrick Johnston