OVERSEA DEMAND FOR CRAYFISH

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25713, 27 January 1949, Page 6

OVERSEA DEMAND FOR CRAYFISH

NEW INDUSTRY IN SOUTHLAND 100 MEN EMPLOYED “The Press” Special Service BLUFF, January 26. A strong oversea demand for raw, frozen crayfish has led to the development of a new industry in Southland. About ICQ men are employed in catching the crayfish from grounds near Stewart Island and Ruapuke, and the first cons gnment will be loaded from Bluff at the end of this month. Although the method of catching the crayfish is not dangerous, it provides excitement for the men, hard manual labour, and exacting hours of work. Those engaged on the work travel to the grounds by launch and dinghy and lower nets to trap the fish. The traps are steel hoops about 30 inches across, covered with a light wire net. Into this is tied the bait. Two men usually work together and seven hoops are put down one after the other. When the last is in positi&uXihe raising of the first begins. Pulling in the net in darkness and holding a torch at the same time may be an ordeal. Cne man is reported to have beccme a little excited, dropped the torch into the water, and in an effort to regain it, jumped overboard. The minimum weight of fish sought is between one and one and a-half pounds. Big fish, up to seven pounds, are not uncommon. Only the tail is wanted and about half the weight is in that part of the fish. Care has to be taken that the carcasses are not dumped near the beds or the remaining fish are liable to become suspicious. The men go out to sea at about 4 p.m. and work through the night until the dawn. They then return to one of the three stations. Bluff. Half Moon Bay or Pegasus, where each tail is wrapped separately in cellophane and kept in the freezer until time for dispatch elsewhere. The exact figures for the amount to be exported soon from Bluff w*ere not available yesterday, but it was estimated that it would run into 3000 or 4000 cases. The chief markets overseas are the United Kingdom. Canada, and the United States, and such is the demand that there is every likelihood of the industry becoming a permanent one. The supply to the New' Zealand market is negligible. The quality of the fish is excellent and they are available in goed condition for most of the year.