VALUE OF FISHING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4589, 23 July 1923, Page 4

VALUE OF FISHING.

NEW ZEALAND’S OPPORTUNITIES. POSSIBLE PRIMARY INDUSTRY. "The man in the street,” said the Hon. Mr G. M. Thomson in the course of an interesting address on “Fisheries of New Zealand,’’ at the Rotary Chib dinner at Wellington on Tuesday “knows next to nothing of the lives of fish, their history, and how they breed, from whence they come, or whither they go.” It was a study, said the speaker, in which one dealt with ’the largest down to the most minute of living things ; from huge sperm whales down to organisms so minute as to reqiure the aid of a powerful microscope to see them. In New Zealand waters, said Mr Thomson, there were 200 specimens of fish, of which about 80 were edible. New Zealand, relatively to other countries, such as South America.. Africa, and Australia, had an enormous coastline —about 5000 miles — compared to its area, but ij;s fishing areas were much smaller than those surrounding the British Isles, the first fishing nation in the world, or Japan, which was second. Trawling was limited by the depth of water, and there were few areas around the coast of less than 100 fathoms depth. Now Zealand trawls were of no use much below 40 or 50 fathoms. Round the British Isles on the other hand, and near to Japan, were large areas of shallow water where good trawling could be indulged in. He thought that New Zealand would have to go in for lhe drift, system of trawling, of which up to the present it had done nothing.

Conditions, continued the lecturer, were quite. different here from those pertaining to the northern hemisphere. Although there was a far less area in which to fish, he firmly believed that New Zealand would become the great fishing centre of the i southern hemisphere. There was n.o j reason why fishing should not be one i of the'most important primary indusI tries of this country. There was an ' enormous wealth in the seas around [ its shores. It would have to be done l by private enterprise, not by the Govi by devoting time, money, and men for . the purpose of accumulating knowledge, and to induce a maritime and fishing population to settle round our coasts. England, with a popula-i tion of 47,000,00’0 people, produced over a million tons of fish annually, valued at £29,000,000 ; and New Zealand. with a population of 1,200,000 people, produced about 12,000 tons, | valued at £385,000. The fishing in- ( dur.try of Japan was worth £21,000,000 to her each year.