PILCHARD CANNING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 29 April 1942, Page 4

PILCHARD CANNING

NEW COMPANY APPEALS* I OR LICENSE Wellington, Th.. Day. The extent of the supply ol pilchards New Zealand waters was in dispute .n an appeal against a decision oi the Bureau of Industries, heard before Sir Francis Frazer, sitting as an appellate tribunal under the Industrial Efficiency Act. Decision now rests with the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Mi Sullivan. A company in process ol formation. Herring Products. Ltd.. appealed against the refusal of the bureau io grant a license to operate. It was contended that, contrary to the decision <j£ the Bureau of Industries, there was both a sufficient market and an adequate supply. A company recently licensed to undertake this work denied this, and claimed that competition for the short supplies of tin was undesirable at present. Reviewing the position. Sir Francis Frazer said that a license to can pilchards had been granted to a company which was one of live objecting to the application. The proposed company j j fanned to produce 3U.00U four-ounce cans a week, and ultimately OOO.iiUU cans a year. Ten men and 40 won..-n would be employed, ail New Zealanders, except a Polish refugee, as expert adviser. Capital of £SOOO wa:* arranged. Supplies of pilchard* were availabio I in every month with little variation, according to a report from an officer of the fisheries branch of the Marine Department. submitted by appellants. Sheltered fishing could Oe obtained tn Queen Charlotte and neighbouring Sounds, even when the weather was unsuitable in Cook Strait, added the report. Evidence was given by three Island Bay fishermen that there was no shortage of pilchards, which they used for bait. In one night they were able to secure enough to last them for a month, and frequently they threw back a large portion of the pilchard catch ir excess of their requirements. The fear of depiction of stock* was, however, expressed by the company already licensed. Blenheim residents ?.greed that the numb r of pilchards in the Sounds was decreasing, said H. McKail Geddes. who suggested that fish became “net-shy.” and increasingly nifficult to catch. He admitted under cross-examination by Mr W. B. Leicester, who appeared for appellants, that he had no scientific evidence for his belief that Ichard supplies might become exhausted. The New Zealand pilchard was belter than the Norwegian and the Swedish, said Leopold Bluman, a Pole, with experienc in fish-canning m Lur The company hoped to use about 75 tons of fish a year, compared, with 1.600.0001 b of herrings and sardines imported into the Dominion a' - * nually.—P.A.