FISH CANNING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23806, 12 May 1939, Page 14

FISH CANNING

DOMINION POTENTIALITIES LARGE CAPITAL NEEDED Interest in the possibility of canning fish in New Zealand has been revived by the total prohibition of imported brands for the second half of the cur-.' rent year. From inquiries made at the Fisheries Division of the Marine Department (states the Evening Post) it was ascertained that there is in New Zealand waters a species of true sardine similar to much of the fish at present imported in cans, and almost certainly just as suitable for canning, but that a good deal of pioneer work is required before the department will be in a position to give a reliable estimate of available supplies, and whether they would be continuously and readily obtainable in sufficient quantities to warrant a factory being started. , There had been several attempts m the past to establish canning factories in New Zealand, .an officer of the Fisheries Division said. One of the most successful while it lasted used mullet caught in North Auckland waters, but the venture ended when' the demand for fresh mullet increased in price beyond the level the factory was prepared to pay. Two fishermen in that district, operating on a small scale, had canned mullet caught by. themselves, but their plant had beens out of operation for about three years because they had found it no longer,' possible to catch sufficient fish in the, grounds available to them. Mullet had proved suitable for canning because it was an oily fish. Oily.; fish seemed to be much better suited for that purpose than other kinds. More recently eels had been canned at Greytown, but although the product was excellent, it did not sell well because New Zealanders were prejudiced against it. Probably the most suitable fish in New Zealand waters for canning would be the herring known locally as the “Picton herring,” which was a species of true sardine, and appeared to be abundant in the waters of Cook Strait. The Picton herring was practically identical with the canned fish put up under the trade names of pilchards in British Columbia and sardines in California, and was ■ also similar to the French and Portuguese sardines, which were well known in New Zealand. These local herrings appeared to be abundant in Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour, where they were caught by fishermen to be used as bait for groper. No general attempt had been made to catch them in large quantities apart from an occasional effort by two Picton fishermen, who had secured catches of considerable size and salted them. A considerable amount of pioneer work, however, would have to be done before it would be possible to state with any certainty what quantities of those fish would regularly be available and obtainable for canning. Fishermen who have had experience of the canning industry in other parts of the world said that considerable capital would be required to establish canning factories in New Zealand. It would also be necessary to know that the fish'* were in sufficient quantities and also that the cost of labour and other charges in this country' would permit tinned fish to be produced at a sufficiently low cost.