H—No. 7

FISHERIES. Memorandum on Coast Fisheries by Mr. Creightoit. The resolutions of the General Assembly last year with regard to local industries attracted considerable attention in Auckland, and a Select Committee of the Auckland Provincial Council was appointed to report on the subject generally. 2. Mr. Murdoch McLeod, a Member of the Council, obtained a Select Committee " to consider the best means of promoting and developing fisheries in this Province." The Committee reported on the 26th December, 1870; and the Council appropriated £400 "to meet the recommendations of the Fisheries Committee." 3. Acting on the general recommendations of the Beport, which the Council adopted, Messrs. McLeod and Perston, of Wangarei, applied to the Superintendent of Auckland for the exclusive use of two blocks of waste land on the east coast of the Province, north of Wangarei Hiirbour, possessing bush suitable for house and boat building, barrel staves, &c, for the purpose of establishing fish-curing stations on an extensive scale. The Provincial Government was unable to comply with the request, and Messrs. Perston and McLeod wrote to the Hon. Colonial Secretary making a similar request. They likewise wrote to Dr. Pollen, General Government Agent at Auckland, and had an interview with him on the subject of their letter. 4. The reply of Dr. Pollen was so favourable that Messrs. McLeod and Perston bought a vessel to be employed on the coast fishery, and built a store at the site selected as the curing station. The land on which the store is built belongs to the General Government. The settlers of Wangarei Heads and Waipu, many of whom are experienced Nova Scotian fishermen, took up the project, and a letter from the district, published several weeks since in an Auckland newspaper, stated that twelve fishing boats were being built in various parts of the settlement. 5. The plan on which Messrs. McLeod and Perston propose carrying on operations is similar to that pursued in the North American provinces,—namely, they guarantee to buy all cured fish brought to them at a fixed rate per cental. The fishermen understand this system ; and as it secures them a steady home market, without fluctuation in price, it appears to be the very best that could be adopted. The buyers incur the risk of finding an outlet for the cured fish; and it was with the view of lessening that risk and encouraging capitalists to go into the business, that the Auckland Provincial Council appropriated £400 as a bonus for the current year. 6. From the evidence of Mr. David Cruickshank and Mr. Morton Jones, merchants, of Auckland, and the concurrent testimony of other gentlemen examined before the Select Committee on Fisheries, it appears that, in addition to the Australian demand, the Eastern countries generally are open to exporters of cured fish from New Zealand. Batavia and Mauritius were specially mentioned; but wherever Coolie labour is employed there is a demand for cured fish. 7. The only point on which the Select Committee on Fisheries had any doubt was with regard to the bonus. The question was, should the bonus be paid to the fishermen or to the exporters ? As, however, the main consideration was the creation of an export trade in cured fish, it was thought that this object would more readily be attained by paying a bounty on all fish cured in the Province, and entered outwards at the Custom House. The Commercial Club of Nova Scotia pays a bounty of 20s. per ton per annum on all vessels engaged in the Newfoundland fisheries; the TJnited States Government pays a similar bounty; and a premium of twelve francs per cwt. is paid by the French Government for all fish caught on the Banks by French subjects, and landed in good condition at Martinique and Guadaloupe. In Nova Scotia and Canada all goods used at the fisheries are free of duty. These points were considered by the Select Committee, and it was thought the advantages of climate in the curing of fish were so greatly in favour of New Zealand as to counterbalance some of the concessions in favour of the fisheries by the North American Government. 8. Having informed Messrs. McLeod and Perston that an Act to encourage Coast Fisheries would in all probability be passed this Session, I received a memorandum from Mr. Perston containing valuable suggestions which might be embodied in the Bill in course of preparation by the Government. (See Memorandum B attached.) In his note, concerning the memorandum, Mr. Perston says:—" It would be desirable, if it could be so arranged by the Fisheries Bill, that any parties commencing the fisheries on the coast, and inducing a number of men to locate there, should be protected against other parties coming to the same harbours and engaging in the same business. This, of course, to apply only to such small harbours as are common along the East Coast of the Auckland Province. Harbours such as Kaipara, Manukau, &c, could not be so bound." These suggestions deserve consideration, as they come from a gentleman practically acquainted with the subject. 9. In connection with this subject of encouraging coast fisheries, other branches of domestic industry should not be forgotten. Care might be taken to attach conditions to any bounty or concession in favour of fisheries, to the effect that all nets, boats, and fishing gear, as far as practicable, should be manufactured in the country, of New Zealand material. 10. The number of men employed in the harbour fisher}- at Auckland is considerable. Several boats are regularly engaged at the work ; and one fisherman recently imported a set of nets at a cost of £500 in England. The fishermen sell the fresh fish to dealers, who hawk them about the town. A small trade is also done in dried fish, but it is not sufficient for the local demand. Occasionally cured fish is sent to Auckland from the Bay of Islands and other Northern ports. A similar trade is carried on at the Thames. The Natives do comparatively little at it. 11th September, 1871. Eobert J. Creightojt. 6

APPENDIX.