Purse-seine Net Fishing Trials

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31295, 15 February 1967, Page 6

Purse-seine Net Fishing Trials

CNetD Zealand Presi Association)

WELLINGTON, February 13. Purse-seine net fishing, at present being tried out by the Marine Department’s trawler W. J. Scott will probably prove to be a good commercial proposition.

But while the new method will provide bigger and more frequent catches, one of the problems is going to be that most processing firms find it impossible to handle so much fish at one time, according to the Marine Department’s supervisor fishery scientist, Mr B. Cunningham. The 92ft stern trawler is at present berthed at Tauranga, undergoing engine repairs before It undertakes purse-seine net fishing in the Bay of Plenty area.

Larger Nets The two nylon purse-seine nets being used by the W. J. Scott are much larger than the conventional trawling net. "The new net certainly saves time,” said Mr Cunningham, today. “You know whether you’ve caught anything or not right away ,and if you have not, you can have the net ready for the next shot in just over an hour.” Since the research Ship

began purse-seining last October it has caught fish on about half the number of shots, with the weights of hauls varying between two and 20 tons. “Between October 23 and the end of January we have set the net on 30 occasions, and have sold 92 tons of school fish,” said Mr Cunningham.

Large Quantities Of the 92 tons sold, 80 per cent were kahawai, five per cent English mackerel, and the rest was horse mackerel. "All the edible fish we catch is sold to commercial merchants, but only one agent will accept the large quantities,” said Mr Cunningham.