Fishermen confident demands will be met

Press, 24 April 1979, Page 2

Fishermen confident demands will be met

PA Wellington The fate of New Zealand's i fishing industry hangs on a ’meeting next week between fishermen and the Ministry of Agriculture (Mr Mac- ! Intvre). The total licencing of the industry seems a strong possibility. The fishermen want to stop the mass issue of fish-: jing permits for inshore work! that have risen from fewer than 4000 in 1975 to more than 14,000 this year. Most permits have gone to amateur or week-end fishermen, the type the commercial ‘men want to stop. The meeting comes after (years of lobbying by the I fishermen and they are now [confident that their demands will be met. Last month the : fishermen threatened to blockade Wellington Harbour unless the Government

changed its fisheries policy. The round-table talks will include the Minister, senior Ministry of Fisheries scieni tific and fisheries staff, and representatives of the Fish- ■ ihg Industry Board, share fishermen, commercial fishermen, processors, and exporters. High on the agenda is the j management of inshore fishleries — the area under the most pressure. Also included are economic and marketing issues covering cost movements from the catching to the final marketing of fish. The Ministry also wants price stabilisation regu- ■ lations, something the fishermen will not agree to unless there are quality con- , trol standards. “There is more pressure on the inshore species now than when the foreign boats were coming in,” said the

secretary of the Commercial! "ishermen’s Federation (Mr I R. Polson) yesterday. “We; hought we were sensible! when we kicked out the for-; signers and now we have! doubled the pressure ourselves. “It is a finite resource. If | we fish it out it will not! come back.” Mr Polson said nobody ’ wanted to stop people catch-1 ing fish. They just wanted: to stop amateurs offering fish for sale. Some licencing regulations do exist for the oyster and scallop industry and more will be introduced soon for the rock lobster fisheries. The fishermen want new regulations to cover wet fish.

They also want safeguards included in foreign fishing rights to govern the sale of fish from New Zealand waters on traditional New Zealand markets.