SARDINE-FISHING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 233, 2 October 1929, Page 3

SARDINE-FISHING.

NEW AUCKLAND INDUSTRY. HIGH GRADE FOR EXPORT. MARINE DEPARTMENT'S REPORT. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Some details of the new sardine-can-ning industry which it is hoped to establish in Auckland, are contained in the annual report of the Marine Department tabled in the House of Representatives. The past year has seen a new development, or at least the initial stage of a new development, in the fisheries of the Hauraki Gulf. A syndicate is being formed to exploit the. sardines which occur in these waters. The method of fishing . which is being tentatively practised is one which has been developed in the Adriatic Sea and has been followed during recent years in the Californian sardine fishery. Shoals .of sardines are attracted by a bright light, which brings them together near the surface, where they may be netted. The promoters hope to establish a canning industry, the principal product of which will.be the New Zealand sardine. Fish of this species appear to be present in the Haaraki Gulf during the greater part of the year, and apparently are in their fattest condition in winter. So far as quality is concerned these fish appear to be suitable for the production of tinned sardines of the highest grade, being of the species which is closely related biologically to the true sardine of the European seas, and practically identical With it as regards flavour. It still remains to be seen whether this fishery will yield supplies in sufficient quantity and with the necessary regularity to afford material for a stable industry. For many years shoals of sardines have been noticed at times off different parts of New Zealand coasts, and in the past they were netted in Picton Sound and marketed under the name of "Picton Herring," but their appearance inshore is irregular. Whether this' apparent irregularity is a matter •of inadequate i observation or whether it is due to a variation in migrations, or to-widely different rates of natural propagation in different years are questions which still remain to be elucidated. It is clear that the satisfactory industrial exploitation will depend upon light being thrown on these questions.