Fishing Research Project Advocated

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30157, 14 June 1963, Page 7

Fishing Research Project Advocated

The Government should immediately establish a fisheries research organisation, equipped with a first-class ship, to test New Zealand waters, said the managingdirector of P. Feron and Son. Ltd., Mr M. L. Newman, of Christchurch, in the first issue of the trade journal, “Unibox Packaging.” “Such an organisation would test not only fishing grounds but also fishing techniques,” he said. “This research should apply to 4he who)e range of sea-foods — crayfish, shellfish, prawns, as well as fish.”

The sooner this got under way, said Mr Newman, the sooner New Zealand would catch up with Japan, Sputh Africa, Iceland and other countries which now had a world market for their seafoods. “Without intensive research, this country has not got a hope of substantially increas-

ing exports of sea-foods,” he said.

But for any single New' Zealand fishing company to undertake the research would be “economic suicide.” Top research priority should be the investigation of pelagic (surface) fishing and midwater fishing. At present New Zealand fishing, boats concerned themselves predominantly with bottom fishing, though they did a little line fishing, he said. Wider Variety Fishing at other levels would require new techniques and equipment. But the rewards would be well worth the research effort. It would also allow New Zealand to export a wider variety of sea-foods—sardines, pilchards, prawns, shrimps, crabs, tuna and many others for which there was a ready overseas market. While the New Zealand fishing industry continued to

operate under present conditions, the export trade would not grow very fast. “The New Zealand share of the Australian import market has dropped in a few years from more than 50 per cent, to only 17 per cent.,” he said.

The inability of New Zealand to maintain a continuity of supply was a major factor. This could be markedly improved if New Zealand could exploit untapped fish resources at top-water and mid-water levels. It would also enable New Zealand to sell’at a lower price because of the sheer volume the country could expect from this type of catch, Mr Newman said.

Mr Newman said there was a great need for New Zealand’s fish exporters to improve the quality of product presentation through topquality packaging and other marketing advances. “For example, South African and

German packaging is far superior to most of ours, and the contents are. cheaper even than our bulk fish,” he said. His company, Mr Newman said, was exporting flounders, soles, and fillets or tarakihi, gurnard, and shark to Australia. Crayfish tails went to France, Switzerland, and the United States. An interesting sideline was the export of shot hares to Europe. This year his company’s export of hares would be at least five times higher than last, year. The hares, Mr Newman said, were supplied by South Island sportsmen, who turned their week-end hobby into a profitable sideline.