Salmon farming a bonus for Sounds fishermen

Press, 28 February 1986, Page 2

Salmon farming a bonus for Sounds fishermen

Blenheim reporter

Salmon fanning in the Marlborough Sounds is providing something of a bonus for local fishermen but probably at the expense of shareholders in the venture. People at the losing end are reluctant to talk about their losses while the tales of happy fishermen tend to grow in the telling.’ What is clear, however, is that since the advent of salmon farming in the Sounds, salmon are being netted in substantial numbers in areas where they have not been caught before. One fisherman alone has reported catching 100 off Keneperu Head in a period of six months. Others talk of good-sized fish being caught in the same period. It is equally clear that the fish must have es-

caped, at an early age, from an artificial enclosure. < • ■

Local' people employed in the are not happy about the' situation but are unwilling to talk publicly about something that could be a barrier to development of a promising industry and threat to their livelihood. How the salmon have escaped has not been easy to determine. Attack by seals and sabotage by humans have been discounted by the manager of the largest salmonfarming venture. Other people have attributed the torn cages to attacks by sharks or other predators attracted by the food or dead fish at the bottom of them.

Six salmon farms have so far been established in the Sounds. The largest, in Crail Bay, Pelorus Sound,

run by New Zealand Marine Farms, Ltd, has 42 cages and was established about two years ago. Another farm of two cages was established in Elie Bay less than a year ago. A marine farm of 13 cages was established in Mills Bay, Kenepuru Sound, about two years ago. The other farms are in Hallam Cove, Ruakaka Bay, and Port Underwood. Mr Pat O’Brien, manager for N.Z. Marine, said yesterday he had had no cage nets cut, broken, or damaged and had lost no salmon. He knew that salmon had been caught in the Kenepuru Sound and knew of one salmon being caught in Crail Bay by a member of the company. The fish was a three-year-old male returning to fresh water.

“We have never had fish long enough in Crail Bay to get to that age, so where it came from is anybody’s guess. “The fish in Kenepuru could come from one of two sources. They could be a natural run from another hatchery but noone has caught a tagged fish, so we don’t know,” he said. Mr O’Brien said the other possibility was that they could have come from an experimental farm run some years ago by Lane Walker Rudkin. He did not know how it managed the farm but believed it had had difficulties with mesh sizes.

“To my knowledge there are no fish being caught there at the moment. None have been caught for four or five months.” He said it had been suggested that seals might have attacked his cages but that was not the case. He did not know how tales like that got around. “I manage the farm and live on the job every day. I can categorically say that we have never had any sabotage. Obviously from time to time the nets will get torn in different parts. It is part of the day-to-day routine, just as a farmer has to repair his fences,” Mr O’Brien said.

When asked if every so often salmon escaped through Holes In the nets Mr O’Brien said, "I cannot say that.” , He said a damaged net did not necessarily, mean that fish would be lost. It was difficult to make the fish leave the nets.

Mr O’Brien said he doubted that any appreciable number of salmon had been caught in Crail Bay. These caught in Keneperu Sound were adults. “We harvest before they are adults so on where they came from your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “We harvest by the time they are 18 months, which is near enough to two-year-olds. The fish people are catching three-year-olds.”