OYSTER SEASON AGAIN

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21387, 1 February 1935, Page 12

OYSTER SEASON AGAIN

Boycott Still In Operation "DERBY" IN THE SOUTH Although to-day marks the opening of the 1935 oyster season, and .although to-day will be a day of great expectations at Bluff and Invercargill, it is not likely that Christchurch people will have the chance to taste the first hauls. In fact, there is still the possibility of a continued boycott of Bluff oysters. The fishermen in the south have not changed their demands for an advance on last year's prices, and the local retailers have not altered their decision to withhold all orders. The newly-formed Fish Retailers' Association met again yesterday morning and subsequently dispatched a deputation to the south to meet the Bluff suppliers and the retailers in southern towns. Until they come to an agreement it seems that Christchurch people will havo to go without their oysters. This state of affairs will not, it is under stood, be due to lack of supplies, for at least one Christchurch wholesale lirm is advertising oysters for sale at the beginning of next week. By midnight last night the Blull oyster fleet would have been ready for sea, and a few minutes after midnight the trawlers would have been slipping down the harbour for the beds between the mainland and Stewart Island. This would be the official start of the annual "Oyster Derby," an event of no mean importance in the far south. The first crew to reach the beds, to gather i harvest, to return to Bluff, and to bring the first sacks to Invercargill. 18 miles away, is adjudged the win ner of a coveted honour. Keen competition on the first day of the season has been the rule for years, and careful preparations are made each year for the rush to be first on the market.

Beds Surveyed When the trawlers set out for the beds early this morning their crews would not have started dredging haphazard. The beds are carefully surveyed before February 1, and those in the business know more or less exactly where to go to find the most suitable and developed crop Where the oysters arc small or in poor condition they are left severely alone, but where they are found to be fully-grown, points on the mainland, Stewart Island, Ruapuke Island, or the Titi Islands, are noted for better guidance. Thus each captain knows where to stop before he orders the trawl or dredge overboard, and where to steer to fill the net with the best of the oysters. In places the floor of the ocean is thickly carpeted with oysters, but there may be bare patches here and there. Therefore the catch from a run ahead with the dredger varies according to the ground dredged When the oysters are hoisted on board and tipped from the net tlv.> sorters set quickly to work. Those oysters fit for the market are packed in sacks, and all other parts of the catch, including starfish, octopus, and seaweed, arc thrown overboard again. As soon as the trawler secures a load she returns to port No time would have been wasted this morning in this section of the Derby.

The Race on Shore Oil shore the haste and competitive spirit is always just as keen. The fish merchants in Invercargill are anxious to have the honour of being first on the market, and all concerned are eager to share the laurels of winning the 1935 Derby. Fast cars wait for the return of the trawlers, and speed regulations are usually conveniently forgotten for the space of half-an-hour or so. The fish merchants who left Christchurch for the south yesterday in an endeavour to reach an agreement with the suppliers were Messrs L. Knowles, A. M. Green, G. H. Bradford, W. Roberts, and P. Sim. The deputation expected to reach Bluff by this morning.