Limit On Crayfishing Sought

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 1

Limit On Crayfishing Sought

Limitation of the fishing fleet catching crayfish around the Chatham Islands would be in the interests of both the boat-owners and the island, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) said in Christchurch yesterday on his return from the Chathams. Mr Kirk said he would approach the Minister of Marine (Mr Scott) with this and other suggestions on the crayfishing industry in the Chathams, having discussed the question with the Chatham Islands Fishermen’s Cooperative and the Chatham Islands County Council, and at a public meeting on Thursday evening. There had been an almost explosive increase in crayfishing in the area, and spectacu-

lar reports about th: rewards to be gained, Mr Kirk said. The rewards were very good, but they were not as good as might be imagined, and being won only by hard work in hazardous conditions. An unfortunate feature of the emphasis on rewards was the attraction it had in many fishing communities, and the position was now disturbing. Already several boats were mooring as they could, without real facilities. Every arriving boat increased the hazards both for itself and for the craft already there. Further, the industry was starting to feel the effects of disorganisation. The county council was feeling the liabilities of the increased traffic on roads which were not good to start with, and were now deteriorating. Good moorings and a slipway were needed, and there was no money to provide them. The industry was also attracting a lot of labour that

had been employed in farming, and this would affect farm development on the islands and cause serious problems at shearing time. Imperative moves included a revision of the council rate, which was a wharf rate, for at present crayfish tails, a valuable export, were attracting a lower charge than, for instance, the essential domestic stores of one of the islanders. But though this would help it was not the whole answer. Fishing boats paid no wharfage and no money for facilities. This suggested that one development should be to accept the principle of introducing a levy on production from which funds could be provided for the safety and the servicing of the fishing fleet. Now that the tailing of crayfish at sea was forbidden the whole crayfish brought to New Zealand had been found to deteriorate, most if not all of the local catch would be landed

and processed on the islands. Because of this some form of levy would be practical. But facilities for boats, facilities for processing in volume, and labour could not be provided overnight. It would be in the general interest to limit the size of the fleet, and since most of the catch had to be landed in the islands and since there were considerable hazards in an area without safe moorings it was obviously time for a pause. This could be accompanied by introducing a Chatham Islands register for fishing vessels, thus providing a measure of survey facilities for watching the rate of growth of the industry. It could also ensure that the rate of catching could be stepped up to the maximum that the grounds could stand without depletion, and could be maintained at this rate indefinitely without a “boom-and-bust” cycle.