“PUBLIC TO BLAME FOR FISH PRICES”

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29878, 19 July 1962, Page 19

“PUBLIC TO BLAME FOR FISH PRICES”

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON. July 18. The public were very much to blame for the price of fish, the secretary of the Wellington Fish Retailers’ Association (Mr A. T. Bailey) told the Parliamentary Sel-

ect Committee on the fishing industry today. In his submissions. Mr Bailey said that in Wellington there were 14 or 15 quite edible fish according to standard book quotations, yet the public demand was confined mostly to six—tarakihi. groper, blue cod (fresh or smoked), butterfish, flounder and crayfish. Some five years ago, the management of the combined fisheries, operating the trawler. Thomas Currell, arranged with the crew to fillet samples of all fish caught—tarakihi, groper, hake, warehau, moki, gurnard, monk fish, lemon fish (a ground shark which has no teeth but a pad of hard substance used for crushing shell fish, its staple diet), ling, snapper, whiptail (whiting), red cod. and trevalli. On three occasions a parcel of approximately 601 b of fillets of each kind, wrapped separately and numbered, was given to the executive of the Wellington Housewives’ Association to test, the idea being to try to make popular the cheaper kinds of fish. “The report from the association was that all samples supplied were excellent eating.” he said, “At the finish they were given the names of all the fish and the prices, but I am sorry to say that there was very little response.” He also told how a retailer once managed to clear a cheaper type of fish, which, because of its price, could not be sold.

Alongside this dish of cheaper fish he placed another dish of the same fillets, but gave them a fancy name and increased the price by is a pound. "The retailer sold two cases." he said.