FISHERIES

Hokitika Guardian, 16 March 1933, Page 7

FISHERIES

AUSTRALIAN NEGLECT. THE POSITION ANALYSED. j "... SYDNEY, March 2. , |®xperts says that if th e possibilities of the Australian coast were fully explored there would be no need for Ace* ttralian trawlers to go across the Tasman to New Zealand waters in .search of a plentiful supply of fish. It can hardly be an economic proposition for a trawler to sail so far away from its home port, and the fact that this is rewarded . n.? necessary emphasises the need of a thorough inquiry on the part of the Commonwealth Government. It is ridiculous to suppose that there are no fish on the Australian coast, and : as the fishing,industry has *ee:i of e uc h | great valu e to many other countries of the world, it is considered that the Federal authorities would be justified in undertaking definite research work. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Federal Cabinet should have devoted much, of lit,? tim e in Sydney this week to the 'consideration of a special report on fisheries, presented by the Minister in charge of development (Senator McLauchlan). The report showed that Australia was the most backward country in the world as far as the development of fishing resources was concerned. It is pointed out that most of the great fishery countries look upon fishery research as being a government function, just as Australia doe s with regard to agricultural experiment and .research. With the exception of the period from 1909 to 1914, when the government research trawler Endeavour did valuable work, nothing of note ha,?’' been done to test tike marine wealth of Australia. Th e Endeavour was lost with all hands, but, incomplete a s her investigation was, it gave rise to the trawling industry in New South Wales, in which about 14 vessels are now engaged. Before the depression forced Australia to .limit the importation of luxuries the Commonwealth imported £1,600,000 worth of fish a year, most of it tinned. .With the exception of the New South Wales trawling is no large scale fishing in Australia and hardly any modern equipment - is employed. Australians ar e among tiie smallest "fish . e aters in the world, but it is likely that the position , would soon be reversed if there were plenty, of fish available at a reasonable price.

Tho proposals ■ for fisheries sea r ch would embrace among other thing s the discovery of new grounds, the testing of larg e scalp means of capture, and a istudy and experiment- of means of better preservation and distribution of tlhe catch. The problem of distribution is a very real one owing to th e sparse, ness of the population and the. distance the fish must be carried before it reaches th e consumer. There is almost complete' absence 'of" modern " methods’ of preservation and practically no canning or manufacture of fish by-products. Some means might be found of using th e gluts of common fish, su c h as barf ail couta, salmon, and mullet, whicih often beset the Australian fishermen. This i,s of the utmost importance to the fishing industry.