Fish earnings up

Press, 25 November 1982, Page 28

Fish earnings up

PA Wellington Fish export earnings rose 45 per cent, in the, first eight months of this year, while export volumes increased only slightly, said the Fishing industry/Board, 5 > ' ..■ Total earnings this.-year were more lhan $l6O million, compared * with about $llO million in the corresponding period last year. The total quantity exported, 87,000 tonnes, was only slightly up on last year, said the board.

. The main reason for the increased value was that the industry, was doing more onshore processing of deepwater species, * said the board’s'' assistant general manager, Mr Russell Armitage. , ,■■■■ “The . poor Japanese squid season:/coupled with belowaverage catches from New Zealand’s competitors, .Canada and. Argentina, hag. led to a buoyant-Japanese market,”

he said.

“At $57 million and 38,000 tonnes, squid export earnings are double those of 1981.”

Mr Armitage said that fish exports for the whole year were likely to reach $250 million, compared with $l9O million in 1981.

Orange roughy, the prime deep-water species, was likely to finally supplant schnapper as the single most valuable fin fish species. Last year schnapper earned about $2O million. Japan remained the most important fish export market, followed by the United States.— where the bulk of earnings is from lobster sales — and Australia.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries expects strong interest from Japanese boats in the squid season, which will start next month. This reflects , the-..higher prices for squid.