NO OYSTERS YET

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29748, 15 February 1962, Page 15

NO OYSTERS YET

Boats Not To Go Out

(N.Z. Press Association) INVERCARGILL, Feb. 14.

Bluff’s 12 oyster boats will not put to sea tomorrow, the opening day of the 1962 cyster season, it was learnt tonight. Officials of the Oystermen’s Union were “not available” for comment tonight and two merchants refused to comment. One union official was out and would “not be home till very late.” another was “away to Invercargill,” and a third was “down at the boat.”

A curt “no comment” came from one merchant, and another said he did not know if the boats were going out tomorrow.

However, there was no meeting between merchants and unicn officials today, therefore no agreement could have been reached on the union’s call for an increase in payment a sack. It is known that the boats will not go out until agreement is reached.

The loss of a day’s oystering will cost the oystermen between £5 and £lO. This loss will continue while they are not working. Oystermen have demanded an additional 2d a sack on the 2s 7d a sack they received last season. This has been turned down by the merchants on the grounds that oysters are dear enough already.

This is not the first time the opening of an oyster season has been delayed as a result of a dispute between oystermen and merchants. In 1953 a dispute, which began just before the season was due to open, dragged on for seven weeks. The boats went out for the first time on April 8 that year.