The launching of a new Fisheries patrol boat yesterday meant Bermuda?s fisheries wardens will be better protected when patrolling 20 miles offshore for six hours a day.

Head Fisheries Warden John Edmunds said a new 28-foot, rigid-hulled inflatable? was a welcome addition to two 15- and 20-year-old, exposed to the elements, 22- and 24-foot-long Boston Whalers currently used as patrol boats

?These were open boats and we patrolled the edges, from three to 20 miles out,? Mr. Edmunds said. ?We all have good stories about being caught out there in a good swell.

Mr. Edmunds said the life-span of boats eventually ran out but replacement models should ideally serve better.

?We are out on the water an average of six hours a day some parts of the year. But when the weather is bad ? we are constrained by size and with swell it is not comfortable,? he said.

However, he said had a really great sea-hull when off-shore and was more stable because it was a rigid-hulled inflatable.

The soft, inflatable sides also made it less dangerous to board fishing vessels in rough seas, he said. ?This is a departure from the rough and ready boats we used in the past,? Mr. Edmunds said. ?It enables us to do our job even better.?

Wardens will use for jobs including ? getting licensed lobster traps de-tangled from rocks and checking their lines, he said. ?It will do all she is called upon to do,? he said.

At a ceremonial launch at Coney Island on Wednesday, Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield said cost around $170,000

But the Minister hinted that Fisheries might get a second patrol boat sometime after April.

?The is a departure from vessels previously in service,? Minister Butterfield said. ?Since the role of the Fisheries Wardens has changed significantly since the fish-trap ban from mainly managing a fish-trap fishery to managing a wide range of fishing activities, it made sense to obtain a vessel with soft-sides to facilitate easy and safe boarding of both commercial and recreational fishing vessels.?

Originally designed for the New Zealand Coast Guard, the is a tough, commercially-built boat, equipped with modern navigational instruments, she said. ?The Protector with its offshore capabilities and excellent navigation systems also greatly enhances Bermuda?s search and rescue potential,? she said.

is powered with two four-stroke outboard engines that can not only reach speeds of over 50 m.p.h, but were environmentally-friendly as they provided better fuel economy.