THE FISHING INDUSTRY

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14482, 1 July 1911, Page 5

THE FISHING INDUSTRY

ACTION m THE HARBOUB BOARD.

leotoruUiy "t tho juixliiJii |)f the It* imuu Uaxuuui- iswu'd uio indiu*try it Aiuuuu «uu uuutr ojucu»»nitt» Mi iUuiujim AlcJjcou, ■on Uouait et the iiuuuu avcp-wa iif.UurLU.cn, wrofp iiiu Jjoujd u> |ia>iruo a uuutb icuLy, nay iouu,, running yixuiiud wiuit a>u, •" wiiari, ami ciju.-<.i«nuu. Uum tuu icii/h luoiu, wiuui uixiut tuitj wili* a U'a,iu, double tramway, and u\>Uaj», J-lio li&hicruiuu would alto Uke the Jioard U> ui'ply to the Dupanuient lor tiha: liuoiuaaay siding Ml borvo the urupu&sd it/and.

A deputation iioui the naiiermea had, wait 3 j on Mciisi'6 Turnhud, RolKstatt and iomig during the mouth, and decide tliat the resident engtUtitf! should furnish a report to the Board on the proposal. The ouguieor now reporitd that b» oonaidueu a separate jetty would suit the n.u.uirenientu of the uauing mduitrj much better than placinft tho depot a* No. i wharf, where it wcild hamper to a great extent the space now available at the root of tins -fiiarf, whioh ia used for the transaction uf the orih> nary shipping business. If this indufc ' try were likely to be a permanent on\», he thought it now of impo> tanco to warrant the oruction of ft Mutable jetty for the use of tlio fishina craft. A suitable site would bo m sbowa on an ;.ccompanying pian, about u Le no °* al,d P^all ol with No, 8 wharf, and this would be o<oar of the ■ principal traffic, and afford more room lor htndling the fish. The jetty wouW need to bo about 140 ft long to provii* tor tu> laxce class of boate now engaced in tins industiy. Suitable landing steps would bo provided at the outof end, and it would be equipped with » crane, tramlines and trollies for the ' oxpiKhtious, handing of the oatchea. Ihora would be little or no ojpenso tor upke-'f? an ooimection with this struoture. The cstinatod cost, including ' ' crane, trolhes and tramline -was £4BOT rbere would be no direct revenue return at t*e present time, and seoina that suoh a jetty would bo for the upe! cml nne of the ftshermen, it would onjr be ref-sonable to ask that the owneri or la&ftees of eaoh boat should miy an annia.l fee of from ten to fifteen sha. lings towards meeting the irterest on, the ci.tlay. Before anything definite was decided in connection with the matH-, it wojld bo advisable to asoeri\ f / om - the Haflway Department, what facilities they would afford in the way of providing a siding for shnn£ u «* ndi van to the proposed jetty. % ' Ihe chairman said they should do all they, could to enoourago this irft ™ ey TO6re always lamenting , tbe lack .of industries in. Timarn ana now that they had a ehianoe or establishing a good industry here, the Hoard should give all >the support that ?° ul 4- Judfens hy the results of tib* trawler Nora Niven, taie possibih'We* of the fishing business in these parti) were boundless. In the past. onl> the line tad been used in fishing: ii the not very distant future he befievt ' ed they would see steam trawler* ' at work, and getting other fish than gropar. Mr Young also spoke strongly in support of doing all they could to assist this industry which was a most important one. It was growing rapidly and the Board should provicS the facilities asked for without delay Mr Francis said ho believed in sujv porting the* industry in a proper way, but ho could not see his way to rot* for this work unless it could be shown that the revenue to be derived would cover interest and sinkine fund on the estimated cost of £4BO. TK» sum estimated to be derived from th« licences was not .sufficient to do this. Mir Withell said the indnstrjr' would grow and the number of licenses increase; they should take that into consideration.

Mr Black spoke of the difficulty of getting fresh fish in the country, and' said that if the Board' assisted'the industry they would be doing good to 1 Timaru and also to the country districts.

Mr Orbnll said they must not look at it merely from the point of view" of Timaru: the industry would bene-" fit the whole of South Canterbury, directly or indirectly, and lie thought the Board should support it. Messrs Thaw and Skinner favoured giving assistance to the industry, but oonsideiredl that the Board should get in revenue at least £25 a year to give interest oru their outlay. Mr Rolleston also spoke in favour '< of providing the fishermen with this flaoilities they asked for. J r o ed that the Board should ascertain what license fees (if any) are ohorgioai the fisherman at other ports. The chairman said the seoretun would procure this-information. Messrs Young and Withell proposed that the engineer be instructed to proceed with the work at once at a cost not to exceed £4BO, ttho license fees ' to be fixed at not more *han £1 per boat per annum. Messrs Armitnge and Skinner thought that before doing anything else they should ascertain whether the Railway Department would give tlh« necessary siding accomodation; and they proposed an amendment to that effect. On a vote being taken tine ameno> roent was carried, 7 voting for it, «noj 6 for the motion .