Fishing board needs more money — manager

Press, 21 December 1976, Page 10

Fishing board needs more money — manager

Wellington reporter More money is needed if the Fishing Industry Board is to fulfil adequately the functions it was established by legislation to do. according to its retiring general manager (Mr J. S. Campbell). He says an organisation such as the board is necessary for the development of the fishing industry, and the F.A.O. supports this kind of organisation with special functions in countries where industries are being built up.

“But we need strength through finance, and the board cannot do the job it was set up to do unless it is properly funded,” he says. “Our role is to be between the Government and the industry, and to interpret the position of each to the other. “We could, and should, have done more (particularly experimental and exploratory fishing work) in the 12 years in which I was general manager, but we have not had the funds we needed.” New Zealand could not expect to develop a multimillion dollar industry such as the squid industry on a shoe-string. This resource was yielding nearly 20,000 tonnes a year,

worth nearly S2OM in export earnings — to overseas fishermen for the most part — and this kind of development needed more experimental and exploratory work than had gone into it. Mr Campbell said the marketing of New Zealand’s fish, particularly some of the less preferred, unde r-fished varieties, would pose some difficult problems. “Already our fish goes to more than 30 countries, and the efforts made by the industry to achieve this a’r e v e r y praiseworthy.” He hopes in time to see greater co-operation and co-ordination in marketing, although he has never recommended the creation of the Fishing Industry Board as a marketing authority.

[ Mr Campbell says the board and its staff at the inception (1964) were not immediately accepted by the industry members, the various industry organisations, and Government agencies. There had always been some confusion about the board’s role, and it had had to earn the confidence and co-operation of the industry. With few staff members — still only 19 — to get around a widely dispersed industry, this had not been easy. mtc I It was necessary to ; tread an impartial path ; between sections of the ; industry with, conflicting j interests, he said. At the i same time, the board had ; to try to bring those industry sections together to enable each to understand the problems of the other. He does not claim to have brought about full understanding between industry sections. A continuing effort would be needed to achieve this, he said. But. the board had persuaded many different industry interests to exchange views on major interests. Although the board maintains a mediation role between the industry and Government agencies, it has developed a role of advocacy for the industry in some fields — development, economics, training, finance, vessel costs, surveys, and issues which

will contribute to the profitable development of the industry, Mr Campbell believes. “We have tried to interpret fairly the position and the motives of the Government and its agencies. This role has not been easy.” He intends to carry his three main interests on the board into retirement with him, as he says he cannot just shut off the interests of the last 12 years and, anyway, there is a great deal of work still to be done. These interests are foreign fishing and the law of the sea, fisheries management and possible licensing systems, and the economics of the industry. Mr Campbell was born in Cumberland. England, in 1911, and his family settled in Canterbury in 1922. He was dux of Beckenham School in 1924, and after leaving West Christchurch District High School (now Hagley High School) in 1929 he graduated from Canterbury University M. Com in econ-

omit and economic historyjn 1937, after som e yean as a part-time student. Met of his working life has b?n spent in the food indusK. He was secretary of rheself Help and .National Distributors group from 1939-53, assistant generaniar.ager of CoryWrightand Salmon, Ltd (Wellinion), from 195355. andfe still a director, and ravaged Apex IceCream, Ltd, in Christchurch fpm 1956 to 1962, when it jas sold to General Foqs, Ltd. He is proud thj the volume of ice-cream produced by Apex itnJeased four-fold during In 1963 Mr Campbell was askec, to investigate milk treattent stations in Europe, art his report led to the contraction of the new milk treatment, station in Chntchurch. In 1964, he Fishing Industry Boatl was established, and ie became its first genera: manager. He will be succeded on January 1 by MrN. E. Jarman.