NEW ZEALAND'S COMMERCIAL FISHERIES

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21775, 6 May 1936, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND'S COMMERCIAL FISHERIES

■iu TUB EDITOR OF TH« PRESS. Sir, —Your leading article headed as above causes one furiously to think. Personally, and I am sure I am speaking for many thousands of other Christchurch citizens, I am fftdre concerned regarding the price of fish in our city. At present it is utterly beyond the purse of the ordinary citizen, and although your columns contain frequent references to goitre and the alleged cure by an oyster or fish diet, such treatment is impossible for the poor in our midst. The powers that exploit this article of food will tell you, of course as before, that "there is plenty of cheap fish for sale"; but whv should poor folk have to take rejected frozen, inferior fish when as New Zealanders, they arc entitled to share in the best. Consult your domestic department and you will find that it is impossible to obtain one decent-sized flounder under 2s or 2s Gd, carefully weighed out —head, entrails, and all.

It is useless denying the fact —any honest retailer will tell you the industry is in the hands of a few and the people's food is "cornered" by a combine. Woe betide those going outside it. As to oysters, they are at times quite uneatable. After trying twice this season my household gives them "a pass." Upon my complaining, my supplier admitted the justice of my complaint, but told me he and others "dare not say anything." They are told that oyster buyers in New Zealand "don't matter. You needn't taKe them; we can sell the whole supply at a good price in Australia." How's that for claims made for the* "fishing industry"?

You are correct undoubtedly in saying "Many New Zealand indigenous fishes are of the highest quality and are highly prized in Australia." Yes, at the expense of the "highly-priced" and exploited New Zealander. No wonder the New South Wales fishermen complain of New Zealand fish dumping—vide your cable service. And now a word as to your statement, "There has never been any investigation into the marine fisheries of New Zealand." Dear! Dear! Plow could you? It is fresh in my memory that J. A, Millar, Minister for Marine in the Ward Government, put this Dominion to enormous expense in such an investigation, bringing from Norway an up-to-date deep-sea trawler, the Norah Niven. The scientists on board reported that we only skim the surface of the greatest fishing grounds in the world, not even excepting those of Japan. It is to be hoped the present Government will dig. out this pigeon-holed report and deal severely and mercilessly with those responsible for exploiting the people's food.—• Yours, etc., NOT GULLIBLE. April 30. 1936.

[The manager of a lcad'ng fish merchant's business said w*en the letter was referred to him that the retailers had first claim on all fish that

came into Christchurch; that any buying done by the merchants had been done at times of glut to help the fishermen; that no flounder had been sold in a retail shop in Christchurch for 30 years with the entrails left in; and that the weather this summer had had a great influence on the price of fish. He added that there are other varieties of fish available besides flounders.]