Caution on tuna boom

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33451, 5 February 1974, Page 17

Caution on tuna boom

I 'from Our Oton Reporter) . GREYMOUTH. i The “tuna booin'’ on J the West Coast is having its repercussions in Wellington. The chief executive officer of the Fishing Industry I Board (Mr J. S. Campbell) i‘is expected to visit Greymouth at the end of the; '! month to study the develop-' Ument of local fishing. The board is studying the (facilities, both available and ■; required, and the marketing ; |of fish. The fishing industry I on the West Coast has been 'rejuvenated with the recent i tuna boom, and facilities, '.although being rapidly in--1 (creased, are still at straining I point meeting the demands of the influx of fishing vessels. Recently, Mr B. T. Piner, . principal of Flake Ice ProIjducts, Ltd. speaking just •after opening a new ice-flake plant on the Greymouth waterfront, was critical of the delay in the handling of; applications for Government! [assistance. I Mr Piner said his company had spent thousands of dollars expanding facilities, and with early assistance could have done much more. | “OVER-ALL” VIEW I The executive officer of 1 the West Coast Development 'Council (Mr A. H. C. Perry) ■isaid the delays were regretted. However, the coun■jcil was trying to ensure that the scale of the proposed operations, in the context of various applications for ■ regional assistance, was in the best interests of the pro- • ) vince. and more detailed costings were required. Vari-, lous aspects had been discussed with the board, and! I inquiries had been made of

• the Ministry of Agriculture: and Fisheries. The council, he said, had jto ask questions such as how much a proposition would help to develop the district, and the amount of employhnent it would provide. Nevertheless, he had discussed Mr Piner’s problems with him. and had suggested various remedies open to I him. | Mr Perry said that Mr! Campbell, who had been overseas, had proposed to] visit the West Coast after-' . the crayfishermen had re-' ; turned from the southern grounds, so that he could meet all fishermen and get an over-all picture of the industry. The crayfishermen had ; now returned, and the visit ; would be made at the end of ■ the month, at the same time as visits to Westport and Nelson to discuss the pos- ■ sible squid industry. BONANZA CONTINUES In the meantime, tuna fishing is continuing to bring -many ships to Greymouth.! llt is common to see over a dozen vessels—with Bluff,; Auckland, New Plymouth,, Tauranga and Nelson registrations —unloading. In addition, more and more. of the Greymouth fleet, about ■ 30, are turning to tuna. The new Flake Ice Plant; produces a ton and a half of; flaked ice a day. a product! in constant demand from' fishing vessels. The manager of the Tuna; ; Fishing Company (Mr B. j i Flyger) says that he and his' ' staff are “flat out” handling, ■ the tuna coming into the . port. The factory’s brine; • tanks, which hold about 35; I tons of tuna are full con-: jstantly, with refrigerated; trucks unloading the tanks; '■and shipping the fish to Nel-1 'son.

The company hopes to have a 500-ton storage room completed this month, to alleviate the pressure at present. With good weather, the! tuna boats are unloading, re] plenishing their ice, fuel and; victuals and setting straight; out again for the tunai grounds.