THE QUINNAT SALMON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18949, 21 February 1925, Page 11

THE QUINNAT SALMON.

UTILISATION AS FOOD, PERMISSION FOR NETTING. THE CANNING OF CRAYFISH. The possibility of New Zealand's fish supplies being augmented by the sale of quinn.it salmon and the establishment of a crayfish canning industry, was mentioned by the Minister for Marine, Hon. G. J. Anderson, yesterday. The. department had been working for many years on the establishment, of quinriat .salmon in the Canterbury and Otago rivers, said Mr. Anderson, and the- fish were now so plentiful,that it- had been decided this year to permit the netting of salmon for sale, either at sea or in the rivers, subject to certain restrictions in order to protect the interests of Aceli ma tisat lon Societies in trout. Quimiat. salmon provided probably the finest fish food obtainable, and now that the fish was thoroughly established, the department would not, be, justified in allowing this waste of food to continue. The handling of salmon commercially was a new thing iri New Zealand, and it would therefore be necessary to impose, certain restrictions until experience had been gained. Fishing for salmon for sale would be permitted in the Oliifha. Waitaki, Rangitata, Rakaia, and Waimakariri Rivers and their estauries, and sea fishermen would bo allowed to operate, up to within a radius of 500 yds. of the mouths of the rivers. There, was good ground for the belief that when a little more, experience had been gained, the depart ment, would he able not only to give the public, a reasonably good supply of fresh salmon, but, that before, very long, it, would be. aide to establish a salmon-can-ning industry. There is another possibly quite, valu able industry which has not been developed as yet," continued the, Minister, "and that is in connection with canning crayfish. The only practical method appears to be. to grant licenses for the. canning, giving factory-owners the right to crayfish taken within territorial waters along certain stretches of coastline. The difficulty in I his connection, however, is the, protection of those men who have been engaged in crayfish catching in certain wafers tor years, who would be quite unable, to finance a canning factory. The matter is being considered by the department, and we hope to evolve, some system which will enable the, crayfish-canning industry to he established, and yet, reasonably to protect the rights of those men already engaged in the taking of crayfish.''