Fishermen’s onslaught may destroy scallops

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33929, 23 August 1975, Page 17

Fishermen’s onslaught may destroy scallops

'From BARRY SIMPSON)

NELSON. i Scallop fishermen who were earning as much as $4OOO a week in the first two weeks of the scallop season are fearful that the “blitzkrieg” on the rich beds in Gol- 1 den Bay will result in the destruction of the shellfish in the area. Fishermen are calling for, some control of the activities . of the biggest fishing i fleet assembled in the bay. As many as 78 trawlers , have been counted working in an area of less than two square miles, and at least 108 are known to be fishing, in the bay. The “Rape of the scal-i lops" is being likened to the: ravishings of the Chatham;, Islands crayfish and the, mussels in Tasman Bay. Mr Peter Talley, of Tai-' ley’s Fisheries. Motueka. re-,, ports a genera! decline in re-1 turns after the first two , weeks. He believes the beds , will be fished out in three weeks. “After that, it’s any-i body’s bet,” he said. The fishermen, sensing a(, danger to future scallop sea-!, sons, are calling for con-h trols, at least until a firm assessment is made of the; effect the intense dredging is! having on the beds. i< SPAT BURIED Some have reported vast i quantities of spat (very y oung scallops) in Golden I Bay beds. They are greatly I

concerned that these young beds will be submerged and suffocated by the countless tons of seabed being ripped up by the dredging. In particular, the full-time ’ fishermen are pressing for stricter policing of the activities of “seasonal” fishermen. many of whon are said to be using pleasure craft and working without certificates of competence. "Seasonai" fishermen are described as those whose ■ major annual earnings are , not derived from fishing. They are said to include schoolteachers, waterside workers, and farmers. Some fishermen say that many seasonal fishermen ; have falsified papers, not- , withstanding the statutary : declarations they have made ■that they have the sea-going : qualifications lade down in ■ the Shipping and Seaman | Act. It is not disputed that the ’ decision of Nelson district I factories to abolish last ; year’s quota system is in part responsible for the assault on the beds. The abolition, and corres ponding rumours of the big money being made, have drawn to Golden Bay a vast fleet of fishing trawlers and (“seasonal” fishermen. NO WET FISH Fish shops in the Nelson district are all but empty of wet fish. All except one of the trawlers working in the district are scallop dredging. Other boats have come from the West Coast and the North Island. Already,;

the 177 shellfishing permits issued in Nelson in the first month of the seven-month season are well above the 112 issued last year and the 77 issued in 1973. They are still being issued. The Ministry’ of Agriculture and Fisheries has no power to control the number of boats that can fish for scallops, or the volume of fish taken. As the fisheries act stands now. anybody can apply for a permit to fish for and sell scallops, pay the department $l4 ($4 for the permit and $lO for the shellfishing “method”), and then go dredging.

If the boat to be used is; ■under six metres, no; (“ticket" or certificate of: competence is required by the master. If it is larger; "tickets” are necessary.! These issued by the Marine; Division of the Ministry of I Transport. The Control of masters' without “tickets” has been: hampered by the splitting of] the old Marine Department! into two departments. DIVIDING LINE There is a distinct demar-1 cation line, over which each department is reluctant to!

I step. Marine officials inspecting "tickets” in 50 boats in Golden Bay recently (12 masters had none) were not obliged to inspect catches for undersized fish. (They did not to so. Similarly, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries officials are not obliged, (when issuing permits to fishermen, or inspecting catches at sea. to ask for and inspect “tickets.” They do not do so.

Fishermen have spoken to the Prime Minister (Mr Rowling) and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (Mr Moyle) on the subjects of licensing and control. Mr Moyle has referred them to a proposal to amend the Fisheries Act during the next Parliamentary session, to give specific powers to the Fisheries Division over newly created “restricted fisheries," and the licensing of fishermen working within such fisheries.

I While the scallop bonanza I lasts — and there are signs ■ that it is drawing to a close, .at least within Golden Bay — the fishermen are making hay. STREAM OF TRUCKS Their feverish activity at sea is matched by similar (activity ashore. The small ! wharf at Waitapu has sometimes been berth to as many las 40 boats at a time, and a (constant stream of trucks I passes through Takaka to factories at Motueka, Nelison, and Havelock. Some of the scallops are opened in a new factory on , the tiny Waitapu wharf, and a few trawlers are making a good living ferrying boxes of fish from Waitapu to Nelson. While the fishermen are receiving between $8 and $9 a case for scallops — and in the first couple of weeks some boats were landing as many as 100 cases a day — scallop openers, too, are doing very well. During the season, about 230 to 250 women are employed as openers, often on a piece-work basis, and these, depending on their skill and speed, are earning from $5O a 40-hour week to $l5O (for “top" girls). Most of the deiectable fish is being exported to strong, overseas markets. A lot will find its way into fish shops in New Zealand at prices ranging upwards from about $1.50 per lb in Nelson. Last year 3389 tonnes of scallops were landed. These had a value of $804,000. This year with the restrictions lifted and if the present good fishing continues the landed weight should be vastly more than this.