The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1937. NEW ZEALAND'S FISHERIES

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 267, 10 November 1937, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1937. NEW ZEALAND'S FISHERIES

For the muse that mrk.i nx*if<lnr)ee. For the, i rrontl that vcrrfa resistance, for the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

Tlic renewal nt' the eX|MM'iment nl' sending the Allfe Cum ncn>»> [lie Tnsmnii In trawl on the New Zealand const has implicutions which will require serious eorisiileration by those interested in fishing in the Dominion. The industry is now regulated under the Industrial Krtieieney Act; only those licensed can lish for th»? local market, mill the licensees are restricted as to areas and the number and size of their boats. The total catch is in excess ot' New Zealand's requirements, and by reason ot' ils proximity Sydney offers the best market I'm - the balance. Difficulties have arisen between New Zealand exporters anil the importers in Sydney, with the result that the free tlow of trade has been obstructed. One re-ull of this has been that the surplus of the maximum catches of the fishing fleet has not lalways found a market, and the industry on this side has thus suffered. The resultant restriction of imports into Sydney, a market which is more under-supplied than glutted, has led to rising prices, and apparently these have tempted the owners of the Altie Cam to try their luck again. The obstructions to the progress of the trade may be entirely due to the actions of those controlling the import in Sydney, but there is u danger that, whatever the cause, the effect of such visits as that now contemplated may seriously damage the whole industry in New Zealand and may further restrict employment here. A market for the surplus from our own fleet is absolutely essential, but if tho Alfie Cam can profitably make the double voyage across the Tasinan it will not be long before others follow her across, and the outlet for the local cxcess may be very seriously curtailed. It may be that the threemile limit will be respected in the first place, but pouching within the limits fixed on every coast in the Old World and in Australia is continuous, and New Zealand cannot expect boats, if they come across in numbers, to refrain from crossing the three-mile limit. It is easy, with a regulated local market, to be quite complacent about possible assaults by overseas trawlers, and to point to the fact that previous visits did not prove profitable, but there is a possibility that success may attend a fully organised attaclc on the coastal fisheries. Before that is attained the position should be investigated not only as it was before the industry was regulated, chiefly in the light of local requirements, but also in full relation tQ overseas possibilities, so that any development which may be inimical to New Zealand's interests may be effectively countered.