THE PRESS THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1979. Help for fishermen

Press, 12 April 1979, Page 16

THE PRESS THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1979. Help for fishermen

The SI million which the Government has placed in a reserve account to help some fishermen should be a sound investment. If the prices of barracouta and mackerel overseas were to remain depressed, the relief given to those fishing for those species would be hard to justify. But there is no reason to believe that the downturn is anything more than a cyclical one which exporters of primary produce face periodically. The SI million, which is to be administered by the Fishing Industry Board under terms to some extent still in the making, should ensure that a number of sound fishing firms stay in business. That is not only important, but fair. The New Zealand fishing industry has undertaken rapid expansion, encouraged at every turn by the Government. For the Government to have stood aside and to have let a number of fishermen go to the wall so quickly because of circumstances paralleled in several other sectors of primary industry would have been short-sighted and hard on fishermen. The task of the Fishing Industry Board may be unenviable. Why catchers of barracouta and mackerel and not catchers of flatfish or snapper, other fishermen are likely to ask. If the use of the reserve fund is extended, the same principle of whether it is a temporary drop in prices or whether it is an unwanted species will have to be asked. What the taxpayer does not want is fishermen catching fish nobody wants to eat and

being supported while they do it. At the moment there is no question of that.

Because the problem is one of price cycle the question is raised of what will happen in good years and whether a price stabilisation scheme for fish should be introduced. Although some earlier hopes about the size of the fishing industry have not been fulfilled, the potential is still enormous.. If fish stocks are managed effectively, there is good reason to believe that the present expansion will come to provide the country with a sound industry which makes an important contribution to the earning of overseas funds. Sensible provision for lean years from the years of fat will be an important measure in seeing that the industry is kept sound. The effective management of fish stocks will be important. At the moment some factors make it more difficult to see that fish are conserved properly. In some areas too many fishermen appear to be chasing too few fish, a situation which not only depletes fish stocks in an unwarranted fashion, but which is bad for the financial health of the industry. The other main problems in the industry lie in good marketing overseas, which is going to require a concentration of effort, and in industrial problems, from which few industries do not suffer. The marketing can be learnt, although learning may not be easy. It is part of the growing-up of a new export industry.