SARDINE UNDERSTUDIES

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1926, Page 8

SARDINE UNDERSTUDIES

PILCHARDS AND SPRATS.] A WORLD'S SHORTAGE, INQUIRIES IX XKW ZEALAND. (By Tofranil. -Speri.il to "Star.-) \ nrxi-nix, , hls da;r , Xn littlr intereM attache* to a nan.* written by Mr. Maxwell Young (dffi of the Port.ihpllo marine fish hatcherw.l ami ihp Hon. li. M. Thomson MIC •ThP Occurrence of Pilchards Y nd Spm* in Now Zealand Seas." and read by Mr Thomson at 11 meeting of the bi'oWa section »f the Science Congress ina-3 much as the paper dealt with the qn os , t urn whether these understudies of tli sardine are to he found nut here in suffi, cinn quantities tn warrant the estah" lishmeni of a great sardine fishing and tinning industry in the Dominion. Tlip paper suited ihnt in some partsol the world the supply of these fUh appeared to have become permanently reduced, perhaps by over-fishing. T],d in Norway tliere was a shortage rt ; "brisling* , sardine to such an extend that inquiries were bring m &l for those lish in many distant countricand attention had l>een directed to Xc\y Zealand. Inquiries had also been niada from Britain as to the possibility of obtaining brisling-, or sprats, from* tlu'a country. It was therefore decided by the Portoliello hatchery authorities tq examine into t lie position on the pjxjj coast of Otago. Sprats and pilchards had been discovered, but not as vet iij sufficient quantities nor with sufficient regularity to justify the founding of ad industry here. At times, it was true, enormous shoals of those fish had been seen in Now Zealand waters, including the Otago coast, but. as in the case o| Europe, the occurrence of such was so extremely erratic that the onljt reply they had so far been able to niak'q to inquiries received was that the great) European companies interested in sari dine fishing should investigate the ques« tion for themselves, as the cost of aij exhaustive inquiry was prohibitive sd far as local investigators are concerned*