N.Z. Fishing “Hampered By Lack Of Funds”

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31967, 19 April 1969, Page 14

N.Z. Fishing “Hampered By Lack Of Funds”

Insufficient funds are preventing the Fishing Industry Board from making the necessary studies and detailed investiga* tions which would equip it to give the Government a “blueprint” for fishery industry development, says the board’s general man* ager (Mr J. S. Campbell) in an economic bulletin published by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce.

Although the Minister ofi Marine (Mr Scott) is most sympathetic and active. Government interest and support "seems to have been eroded by zealous control of finance, combined with over-caution which has even retarded the proper investigations into the potential for development.” It has been too easy, says Mr Campbell, for the Government's advisors to emphasise the risks involved, and to yield to the fear of creating embarrassing precedents, by giving much-needed assistance to an infant industry. "There are, of course, many such precedents now in the history of the development of other New Zealand industries, for example, forestry, paper and pulp, steel, marginal land development and aspects of farming too numerous to mention.

Special Exceptions “If New Zealand wants the fishing industry to develop at a time when the general economic climate is not favourable and when the economy in general is being 'damped down’ the Government must

see that special exceptions are made for the fishing industry. “If the industry is expected to lift Itself by its boot straps it should be remembered that in the fishing industry one section's boot straps may be lifting another section's boot

"In other words, the finance provided by the fishing industry to enable the Fishing Industry Board to discharge its development functions comes from the existing operators in the industry who catch wet fish, crayfish. oysters, etc. and this money must be used by the board to aid development into trout, mussel, eel and other fish fanning, into pelagic fishing, into searching for new varieties of fish such as prawns and scampi and to assist new entrants to the industry. The Governments role is clearly not just one of sympathy and setting the “climate” for development, says Mr Campbell. “In fact, too much verbal climate setting and optimism not backed by factual information, leads to unwise development or unnecessarily

risky investment decisions. The most helpful Government action could be in actively and adequately supporting the work of those organisations such as the Marine Department and the Fishing Industry Board whose task should be to provide the Government and the nation with the correct background information. New Wealth

“These bodies need to be able to carry out their respective and complementary but not conflicting or overlapping investigations and provide reliable information on which wise development decisions ean be based. Sound development information will restore the confidence of investors, reduce the risks and so help create new wealth for New Zealand by using fully otherwise wasting natural resources.” If it is Government policy to endbqrage, stimulate or help other industries according to their needs, their political influence and the Government's ability, then the fishing industry should re-' ceive special help and incen-' tives according to its peculiar, needs at its present stage of' development and in accord' with its potential for future, development. MTC Other Countries Other countries with pre- 1 dominantly private enterprise economies give varying de-, grees of assistance to the development of fishing industries, says Mr Campbell, and New Zealand inevitably encounters the effects of this assistance in export markets. He says this does not necessarily mean that the New Zealand Government should give the same kind of assistance.

"The same factors may not influence our Government.

However, if the New Zealand fishing industry is to compete on overseas markets against the fish products of nations wnich do substantially assist their fishing industries, then the New Zealand Government's role must be examined closely.” Mr Campbell says the fishing industry would expect that its needs and its claims for assistance be examined and investigated thoroughly, in spite of its being a small and politically weak industry, overshadowed by other primary industries and the rapidly developing secondary industries. He says fishery development demands long-term policies from Governments, and that the knowledge on which planned industry development can be based may take many years to acquire.