SUPPLIES OF FISH

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXI, Issue 8832, 12 October 1942, Page 2

SUPPLIES OF FISH

(To the Editor.) Sir,—The paragraph in your edition of September 28 referring to the high price of fish in Christchurch provides an occasion for a statement on the question of fish supplies generally. In Christchurch all fish passes through an auction mart before it reaches the retail shops. Up till recently the supply has 'been normal, or nearly so, but within the- past month a trawler which last year caught 600,000 pounds weight of fish has been taken from the Lyttelton fishing fleet for defence purposes, and this has created a serious shortage. The effect on prices in the auction mart has ‘been to force them to extraordinary levels, and this is easily understood, because if there is a shortage, the retailers, desperate to obtain supplies, will 'bid prices to the skies. In fact, as I recently told the War Administration, to expect price stability is absurd if you have an auction system operating on a condition of short supply. In Wellington the normal catch of the fishing fleet is 2000 1 tons annually. More than a year ago one of Wellington’s trawlers was requisitioned for naval purposes. This vessel had a catching capacity of ’7OO tons. Now another trawler which last year brought in 500 tons has been taken. The supply made, available by the Wellington fishing fleet has therefore been reduced by twothirds. Prices are influenced by the auction system in Wellington where about one-sixth of the catch passes through an auction mart. A most serious marketing problem has 'been created by the reduction because the wholesale company which owns the two trawlers has lost the main source. of its supply, while if from 60 to 70 retailers can operate profitably on a 2000-ton supply, it is obvious that several of them must go out of 'business if only 800 tons are at their disposal. - ' In Auckland the catching capacity of the fishing fleet was reduced by about one-third at the beginning of the war, and this reduction was progressively increased as the war has proceeded. Moreover, the boats left in the fishing fleet are restricted in their operations in that they cannot fish in large areas now mined. The consequent shortage in the Auckland supply has led to a decision on the part of the Fisheries Branch of the Marine Department to ease the restrictions which formerly prevented certain of the Auckland seine boats from operating in fish sanctuaries and spawning areas in the Hauraki Gulf.

I have protested most strongly against this decision, and will continue to do so, because I think it must injuriously affect the fisheries in the Gulf, but in this letter the point I am making does not refer to conservational measures, but to the reasons for the fish shortage and the high prices. These are as I have indicated: The withdrawal of boats from the fishing fleets to meet defence requirements, the constriction of fishing areas, together with the calling up of fishermen to the Armed Forces, and the increasing difficulty in the matter of obtaining all kinds of fishing gear.

Your readers will have no difficulty in appreciating the fact that if supplies have been reduced in the degree indicated, it will 'be hard enough for the existing retailers to procure the stocks they need to carry on, without adding to their number. I mention this in the hope that the position will be considered with understanding and without heat; indeed, this is the only reasonable attitude in a situation where, in the very nature of things, the most difficult problems are unavoidable.—l am, etc., JAMES THORN, Chairman, Fisheries Advisory Committee, House of Representatives. 6/10'/42.