More Fish With Japanese Gear

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30653, 20 January 1965, Page 1

More Fish With Japanese Gear

(New Zealand Press Association) TAURANGA, January 19. About 5001 b of fish were taken in less than two hours by the Marine Department research trawler, Ikatere, today using a four-man trawl net in the first practical demonstration of gear during the 14-day demonstrations of fishing techniques and equipment which opened at Tauranga yesterday.

The Ikatere was working off Motiti Island, about 11 miles east of the Tauranga Harbour entrance, in conditions not suitable for fishing. There was a 12ft to 14ft swell running and winds gusting up to 25 knots.

The skipper, Mr W. G. Sampson, said the trial was successful. “We don’t normally get fish in this region when working in daylight in clear water. There is definitely something to be said for the gear we were using.” The Ikatere made three short runs of 15 minutes, 30 minutes and an hour, between which alterations were made to the settling of the gear. The alterations were made under the supervision of two Japanese technicians, Mr R. Eguchi and Mr K. Murakami. The four-seam net is similar to a normal trawl net as

used by most New Zealand commercial fishermen, except it is built in four panels instead of two. The extra two panels result in the headline at the opening to the net being one and a-half to twice the height of a normal trawl net of comparable size. Mr Sampson said a considerable amount of fish that would have swum over a normal trawl net were probably caught because of the extra height of the headline. Three Hands

The shooting and picking operations are the same as with a normal trawl net, and easily handled by three hands. More than 100 commercial fishermen watched part of the demonstration from three observation vessels, which returned to port when conditions worsened before the last tow. The demonstration by the Ikatere was the only one today.