Fish supplies near nil in Chch, says processor

Press, 24 April 1987, Page 8

Fish supplies near nil in Chch, says processor

By

GLEN PERKINSON

Supplies of fish to Christchurch consumers are "just about nil,” according to the managing director of a city fishprocessing company. ' Mr Neil Mclntosh, of Fresh Pack Fisheries, who has called for inquiries into individual transferable . quotas (I-T.Qjs), said there was not much fish about and the price for what was available was “skyrocketing.” Because of shortages and high prices "pressure is being put on retailers to survive — many are failinsiby the wayside,” hej< au-beeo brought

about by 1.T.Q.5.” One of the reasons be- • hind the present shortage was fishermen not catching their allowed quota. The same applied to larger fishing companies, he believed. “Companies that have big quotas and are not catching them should have the quota taken from them. If the amount of quota that is out there was being fished we would not have this shortage,” he said. According to a spokesman for the Christchurch Fish Retailers’ Association, fish was hard to come by. Prices were jiihigh but could be desIcribed as “reasonable” . When welgbed against to-

day's averages. Some popular species were almost impossible to buy, the spokesman said. Hoki, which is sold almost solely to the restaurant trade, was at a premium. “You are lucky if you can get any,” he said. Although it sold at $4 to $5 a kilogram, that was a

wholesale price. Retail fish was selling for up to three times that amount. Some examples of popular species’ availability and price are: - • Sole fillets, $14.80 a kilogram, reasonably available because there is not a great demand. • "Bqrakihi, $ll.BO, fairiyWenfifuL,.. .. ■ „ • Groperfillets,sl3.so,

in reasonable supply “but you can get it only if you are prepared to pay the price.” • Gurnard, $12.80, relatively 'easy to get. • Red cod, $lO.BO, very hard to get. The spokesman said these prices reflected the high price Christchurch people paid for fish.

But prices throughout the rest of. New Zealand can be much higher, according to Mr Mclntosh. Hoki retailed at $5 a kilogram more in other parts than in Christchurch, he said. Reports of other, fish species retailing at more than£2o a kilogram in the ■brth '■sss•■ Ve bee “