SEA FISHERIES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19584, 16 March 1938, Page 4

SEA FISHERIES

REPORT TO PARLIAMENT MANY ASPECTS COVERED HANDICAPS OF INDUSTRY BETTER CONTROL URGED (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. New Zealand’s sea fisheries were thoroughly investigated during last recess by a Parliamentary committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Jas. Thorn, and the result is a voluminous report of 271 pages and appendices, which was tabled in the House of Representatives just before its final adjournment.

There are no fewer than 200 recom. mendations from the committee, which the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, and the Minister of Marine, the Hon. P. Fraser, will have to consider, Mr. Sullivan stating to a interviewer that as soon as possible consideration would be given to the report with a. view to bringing about improved conditions in an industry which, In his opinion,' has too long been struggling under a multitude of handicaps revealed in the report.

Discussing the supply of fish for Mew Zealand, the committee took into account the export business which reached a value last year of £175,122. The value of fish locally marketed was £415,600. A continuation of export at the present level is not warranted, states the committee. When it is considered that measures of conservation of fish stocks are imperative,. an increasing volum e of landings ought to be made available for internal distribution by means of better organisation, cheaper transport, and a reduction in prices. >

Are the profits in the fish industry too large at any point? The committee makes a reassuring answer, though it considers that price reductions are possible' through better organisation and by economics in both the wholesale and retail, trade.

“The price spread between the price paid to the fishermen and the retail price is a‘ matter which should be given some publicity in order to allay the suspicion that is in the minds of fishermen, and to som e extent of the general public as well, that either the wholesaler or the retailer, or both, are securing a profit out of all keeping with the price paid to the fishermen,” states the report. It then sets out the range of prices for two important varieties handled at Auckland. Its comment is: “In comparing the two prices the full volume of wastage incurred in cleaning and processing is not taken into account, and perhaps overlooked altogether by some. Particulars show that a retailer upon the purchase of his fish at any price is immediatelyfaced with a heavy loss in wastage.

Wide margins of profit in the fish retailing trade are, in the committee’s opinion, very infrequent. This applies with equal force to the wholesale trade.

Recommendations are made for abolishing the auction system of sale at the four chief centres and the stabilisation of prices at seasonal levels at these places, and also at Nelson and Napier. There is an Auckland fish export committee in existence, and the report suggests that its work should be extended to cover the supervision, co-ordination, and development of the internal market for fish and fish products within the Auckland provincial district, and that similar committees be set up in Wellington, including Napier representation, and in the South Island, with headquarters at Dunedin. These committees should work under a central authority which would be a supervision body tor the whole of the export industry and internal marketing. To conserve fish supplies, the committee makes a number of suggestions for further limitations on trawling in certain areas, while in regard to Danish seine netting, which is a very intensive fishing method, the recommendation is that it be abolished all round th e coasts of the South Island, prohibited at Gisborne, gradually abolished at Napier, and further restrictions imposed in other fishing grounds.

As it was found that certain oyster beds in Foveaux Straits, notably the eastern beds, show • definite signs of depletion, the committee recommends that these be closed for at least three years. The open season should also be curtailed by a fortnight. Regarding Auckland rock oysters, which are controlled by the State, there is a recommendation that the policy of cultivation should be implemented as rapidly as finance permits, and that the leasing of foreshores by owners of abutting properties for oyster cultivation work be permitted where there has been no expenditure of public money for this" purpose.

Somewhat, concerned about the con. dition of a large proportion of the ishing fleet, the committee recommends a regular modified survey of every fishing vessel propelled by power and proceeding outside harbour limits.

A company is reported to be proposing to enter the industry with substantial capital, but the committee considers that it is extremely doubtful whether a projeci of such magnitude would become an economic proposition.

As for the operations of visiting Australian trawlers, the committee points out that no action can be taken against vessels operating outside territorial limits, and the question is bound up with international. agreements on the subject.