PRICE OF FISH

Southland Times, Issue 20446, 26 March 1928, Page 8

PRICE OF FISH

NOT TOO DEAR MERCHANT REPLIES TO HOUSEWIFE GREAT EXPENSE INVOLVED It was not to be expected that the complaint of a housewife that fish was unreasonably dear in Southland and that there would be no need to put fish in the freezer and export them to Australia if “a little business sense were let into the heads of the fish merchants” would pass without some comment from the local fish merchants. Nor did it, for one of the most prominent merchants in Invercargill had much to tell a reporter concerning the huge expense involved in the fishing trade. “First of all I should like to tell you that if we offered to give away all the fish we caught in the hot weather we would not find nearly enough people to take it. I have never known such a summer for fine weather as the one just past, and so much fish was caught that much of it had to be put in the freezer or thrown overboard. We could never have found a market for it in Southland. I maintain that this is the cheapest place in New Zealand for fish. Look, here’s a smoked trumpeter. I’ll* put it on the scales; it weighs almost 41bs. Well, I’ll sell that for 2/-. Cheap enough? Groper today is only 8d a lb for the best quality. Then there is any amount of cheaper fish, moki, greenbone and trumpeter, only people don’t seem to want these kinds. Blue cod is of course dear fish because it is so much in demand and limited in supply. Many people seem to think that all you need to do to catch fish is to put down a line anywhere in the sea. Let them try it for a living. There’s a tremendous amount of expense involved in the fishing trade.” The reporter suggested that it might be a good idea to let the public know the labour and expense entailed before a groper was ready to be placed in the window for sale. “Well, first of all you have to buy a launch,” replied the merchant. “That will cost £3OO to £4OO. Moreover, you have to know all about the launch, and that takes time. A knowledge of the fishing grounds is essential. Any ordinary man who tried to catch fish for the market would not make salt for his porridge. People on shore think you can c(rop a line down anywhere. If you are thirty yards off the spot where the fish are feeding you will get none at all. Then there is the equipment of lines, hooks and sinkers. Some of these are continually being lost and have to be replaced. After the fish is caught it has to be thoroughly cleaned by men whose pay is 2/6 an hour. It is then cased, this entailing further labour and a shilling for the case. The. cleaning and casing are nearly always done at Stewart Island and the fish is then conveyed to Bluff by a special craft. Wharfage has to be paid at Stewart Island and Bluff. It costs approximately 9/- to land a case containing 601bs of fish at Bluff. The Invercargill merchants order what they require and the rest is put in the freezer. The fish for the local market is railed from Bluff and there is still a lot of work to be done in cleaning it more thoroughly and slicing it before it is ready to be retailed. In addition we merchants have heavy rents to pay. lam sure if the public realized all the expense involved fewer would accuse us of charging too much.”