FISH MARKETING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 84, 10 April 1937, Page 10

FISH MARKETING.

TO BE REORGANISED.

BRITAIN SETS UP BOARDS.

FLEET'S CAPACITY GROWS.

The white fish industry in Britain is to be completely reorganised. A marketing scheme is to be drawn up and distribution costs are to be drastically cut.

This was the important announcement affecting 21,000 fishermen—made by Mr. \V. S. Morrison, Minister of Agriculture, in the House of Commons.

Three boards will be set up: An independent commission, a centr.il fcoard or joint council., which will be the co-ordi-nating body for the whole industry; and a producers' board, on which will "be the trawler owners.

In time, there inay be boards dealing with the specific interests of merchants, fishmongers and fish fryers, or one board may be enough to deal with the interests of all three.

The main anxiety of producers, it is explained, is the progressive expansion in recent yearn of the catching capacity of the fleet.

Control of Vessels. This is due to competitive building of large trawlers for fishing in distant waters, and a consequent increase of landings of low quality fish, which unduly depress the market.

The new scheme, based on the prin* ciples embodied in the Agricultural Marketing Acts, will confer on the Central Board powers to regulate the operations of fishing vessels and the landings of fish.

It seeks to secure the maintenance and rational employment of an efficient fishing fleet, and, at the same time, to promote improvement in the quality of the fish supplied to the consumer. : Funds from the industry wll, be expended on experiment, pab- . licity and market development. 1" _ It is hoped that the distributive tions of the industry may be able. ti-| carry through measures "to regulate "j trading practices. J Attention is drawn to the question of -2 the inspection and safety of fishing vessels and the conditions of service of v ; the crews of trawlers. .

The first of these two points is being dealt with by legislation. T-he second is concerned mainly with the dissatisfaction expressed in some quarters with method* at present employed for calculating the shares of fishermen in the proceeds of a voyage.

The legislation will deal with this among other questions.