Nelson-Based Fishing 8 OVERSEAS FIRMS SHOW INTEREST

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30540, 8 September 1964, Page 3

Nelson-Based Fishing 8 OVERSEAS FIRMS SHOW INTEREST

(New Zealand Press Association)

NELSON, September 7. Light overseas firms are interested in establishP hshrng companies in Nelson, according to Mr L. H. Davies, a member of the Nelson Industrial Development Committee.

Mr Davies has returned from an overseas tour of three months. He said five offers were from United States corporations and the others were from Jugoslavia, Britain and Japan.

In addition, Dutch and Czechoslavakian companies were also interested, he said. The only thing holding up negotiations was the Marine Department survey into fish, particularly pilchards, scheduled to start from Nelson next Monday. Tremendous opportunities awaited New Zealand in the fishing industry but, he said, much had to be done—quickly. Mr Davies, a local union secretary and a national councillor of the Federation of Labour, went overseas as the New Zealand workers’ advisor 1

at the 1.L.0. conference at Geneva. He also visited Jugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Britain and the United States. In each country he met representatives of fishing industries and companies. He is connected with the Nelson Fish Canning Exploratory Company which has done much of the work in interesting overseas companies in establishing a fishing industry in Nelson. World Short Mr Davies said there was a world shortage of fish and the last major fishing area was around Australia and New Zealand waters. The Americans were interested primarily in fishing for 1 pilchards off New Zealand but

would also want to catch other fish, including tuna, mackerel and shrimps, he said. They would wish probably to extend their activities into other industries for in addition to fish the corporations also canned and preserved fruit, quarried and mined and some were also ship owners. One corporation had two men ready to take part in the fish survey. Jugoslav Wants The Jugoslav Government was interested in securing a guaranteed supply of fish. At present it was principally supplied by Japan which caught most of the fish in the South Pacific. The Jugoslavs were prepared to establish a fishing factory, floating and shorebased biochemical research laboratories, supply prefabricated fishing boats of any size to be assembled in New Zealand and, if necessary, provide canning equipment and machinery. They were also interested in holding discussions with firms or government departments on New Zealand minerals and on the by-products of the iron and steel industry. Mr Davies said the British firm of Whiteside and Company, Ltd., was ready to start operations if the Marine Department’s survey was favourable.

Could Undersell

A director of the firm had said it could, while operating from Nelson, undersell South Africa, the world’s major producer of pilchards, by 20 per cent in Asia. Mr Davies pointed out that all companies were prepared to accept that control of any new company had to remain in New Zealand hands. Mr B. R. Tunbridge, the Marine Department research scientist who will carry out the survey on pilchards, met members of the Nelson Fish Canning Exploratory Company in Nelson today. The survey is due to start next Monday from Nelson and is expected to last about a month. Mr Tunbridge discussed general aspects of the survey with Messrs P. S. Boyes, C- E. Davies and T. Dorman.