MONEY IN FISH

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 101, 1 May 1930, Page 14

MONEY IN FISH

USING THE OFFAL

A NEW INDUSTRY

THE PROSPECTS HERE

There is money in fish. This, at any rate, is the firm opinion of Mr. ' James G. Michie, one of the most prominent wholesale, fish merchants of Aberdeen,' who is at present on a visit to New Zealand. In an interview to-day, Mr. Michie said ho was convinced there were great possibilities ahead of the fishing industry in New Zealand if the problem were tackled in a businesslike way. Ho suggested that the Government might encourage the industry, in its early stages at least, by a bounty or subsidy, although he smilingly admitted that that was a question for the politicians to concern themselves about. Mr. Michie arrived in Auckland on Easter Monday, and since then he has been keeping his eyes very wide open. "Sines my" arrival," ho said to a "Post" reporter this -morning, "my attention has been directed to the great industry of New Zealand, that of agriculture, and particularly that section of it which has to do;with animal breeding. Conditions here are very similar to those at home. I paid a visit to a farm about thirty miles from Auckland, a farm stocked with dairy cows and pigs, and I. was disappointed to see that the pigs were not what they might have been. It struck me that the question of the nutrition not only of pigs but of cows as well, is a matter that could be profitably investigated. My connection with the fishing industry and with the utilisation of byproducts, notably fish meal, for food purposes, and my experence of over thirty-five years, leads me to the conclusion that of all countries I have visited New Zealand, more closely resembles Great Britain in her sources of supply than any. The potentialities of the fishing industry as an adjunct to agriculture are very clear to me. Indeed, if I was thirty or forty years younger and with the same experience as I possess now, I certainly would come here 'and set up in business." ANIMAL FEED AND GLUE. . Mr. Michie said he had been interested to see from the newspapers that action was being taken by ; the pig breeders of the Dominion for the grading of their stock, and also that they were taking .Danish methods as their model. Remarking that Danish pig breeders made extensive use of fish offal as a food, Mr. Michie said that the popular belief that fish meal affected the flavour of bacon was unworthy of' no- \ tice. The high standard of excellence which the Danish claimed was largely the result of the scientific apportionment of fish meal to the ration supplied to the pigs. Apart from the meal used for feeding animals, there were other profitable uses to which fish offal could bo put, said Mr. Michie. There was the manufacture of glue. There were several varieties or grades of fish glue —the variety that had such a strong odour but stuck anything, from wood downwards; the finer quality known as seccotine, and the still more highly refined article used in photgraphie process work, as in the making of newspaper illustrations. Mr. Miehie said he could not over-stress the importance of byproducts so far as the fishing industry was concerned. They made all the difference between carrying on profitably and carrying on at a loss. "I have been particularly impressed by the possibilities of the fishing industry in New Zealand," , said Mr. Michie. "There is a great deal of wealth to be won. from the sea, particularly if full advantage is taken of the by-products from the fish offal. The question of sardine fishing has been brought under my notice while I have been in the Dominion. While I am a firm believer in private initiative, I think it is the duty of the Marino Department to help any who may wish to exploit this particular branch of the fishing industry. I h^ave no hesitation in saying that if the sardine industry was cnterede upon in New Zealand it would equal, if not exceed, the famous industries of France, Italy, Austria, and .Norway. Of course, I am. not suggesting what the Government ought to do. They know their own business best, and I am a stranger here. I am only pointing to the possibilities." Mr. Michie said that the "white" fishing industry had already keen established in New Zealand, but it would be found that this would also advance very considerably with assistance. , AN EXPORT TRADE. Questioned regarding his suggestion that the •Government should pay a bounty to the fishing industry, Mr. Michie said he was not suggesting that the bounty should be in any way extravagant. The Government might give something to the man who caught the fish,, so he might equip himself with a suitable craft and a little to the man ashore who sold the fish, in order that he might make a profit. In the past the Scottish Board of Fisheries had paid bounties in order to encourage the fishing industry^ and the result of the encouragement had been that to-day, instead of receiving assistance, the fishermen were paying a small fee to the board. This revenue derived from the fishermen was spent in research work, and so on. There was another aspect to be considered also. The encouragement of the fishing industry meant that more men took up a seafaring life, and in a sea-girt country such as New Zealand that was of the- utmost importance. Ho saw no reason why eventually ITew Zealand should not build up an export trade in fish. Discussing the depletion of fishing, waters by constant fishing, Mr. Michie said that such was the efficiency of the modern engine for the capture of fish that the stock was depleted, but if an open season and a close season were observed the area would recoup.

Before leaving New Zealand Mr. Michie will visit the South Island.