H.—44a.

Thames is in an unfortunate position, in that is possesses too much refrigerated space, fully 70 per cent, of which would not come up to modern standards. Some of the plant is definitely in such a state that no value can be placed upon it. Only the fact that a large proportion of the Thames fish has been used for the country trade, leaving but a small surplus for the export trade, has kept these plants out of serious trouble. As a matter of economic policy there should be a reduction in the number of freezing-plants available in Thames, and those left should be brought up to modern standards and be capable of handling the entire normal output. There can be no valid reason for the maintenance of four firms in a small port like this. The question of co-ordination will be discussed under the heading of " Wholesale Trade." One difficulty which can be foreseen with regard to amalgamation is the absurdly high valuation which some of these firms have placed on their plants ; a preliminary measure will have to be the valuation of the freezing-plants by some competent person not associated with the fish trade in any part of the Auckland Province. Auckland. At Auckland there are eight wholesale fish firms. Of these only four—Sanford Ltd., Waitemata Fisheries, Ltd., Auckland Fisheries, Ltd., and the Auckland Seine Boat Association —have freezingaccommodation of any size or efficiency. Sanford Ltd. is by far the largest plant, and, having had recent additions, is well up to date. Plenty of working-space is also available. The Waitemata Fisheries, Ltd., has a plant which is modern, well kept, and up to date in every particular. This firm is a little cramped for room. The Auckland Fisheries, Ltd., has a plant which is small but quite capable of doing the work for which it was intended. The layout could be improved, but is more or less governed by the space available. The Auckland Seine Boat Association's plant is much smaller in freezing-capacity than the other plants mentioned, but is up to date and kept in good order. The rest of the companies have either no freezer or only small 1 ton or 2 ton units which are really only coolers. Details of the principal freezing-plants will be found in Appendix N. New Plymouth and Wanganui. One merchant at New Plymouth has a small freezing-plant capable of holding some 5 tons of fish and of producing -J ton of ice daily. The space is nearly always required for his own supplies, but, if not, the fishermen may use it at a charge of -|-d. per pound of fish. The erection of public freezingspace in New Plymouth was requested by the fishermen, but, although this is desirable, it is doubtful if the expense would be warranted. At Wanganui there was also a request for freezer-space, but the amount of fish which comes into port would not warrant the expense. In these matters we have no recommendations to make. Wellington. Wellington is well served in the matter of freezing-space for fish. In addition to the excellent plant of the N.Z. Fisheries, Ltd., used for their own stocks and for that of their customers, there is the public storage available at the Co-operative Dairy Producers Freezing Co., Ltd.'s plant.' The Committee made a detailed inspection of these plants and found that they were kept in splendid condition. Both are adequately piped, and each provide good control of the freezing-chambers, the latter by means of an electric temperature recording in the engine-room. The one apparent weakness noted by the Committee at the Co-operative Dairy Producers Co.'s plant was the excessive size of the freezing-chambers used for fish. With a chamber of this size there would be difficulty in obtaining the rapid freezing of fish which is so necessary, and, further, the rise in temperature due to the influx of green fish must tend to have a deleterious effect on the fish already frozen. As complaints had been received that fish refrigerated at this plant did not turn out well after two months' storage, particular care was taken by the Committee in its inspection. So far as the plant itself is concerned no fault could be found, except the too-spacious area of the chambers, to account for any deterioration of the fish, but one obvious cause is the way in which much of the fish sent to the freezer is packed. One line was packed in close-boarded boxes of much too large a size. Fish packed in such boxes could not be frozen quickly by any plant in New Zealand. Other fish had been shipped in sacks. From the condition of the sacks it was obvious that this fish had been roughly handled in transit to the freezer. By the time it had been delivered it would in all probability have been badly bruised, and for this reason would thaw out badly. Unfortunately, the freezing company would then be blamed for trouble due to the faults of others. The Committee is convinced, however, that the utility of this excellent plant could be increased as far as the freezing of fish is concerned if one-third of the present freezing-chamber could be partitioned off with an insulated wall and used as a freezing-room for the reception of green fish and where the fish could remain until hard frozen. If this small chamber could be coupled up with the Hall " booster "to enable the fish intake to be " hammered down " to zero in the minimum of time, we feel that excellent results will be forthcoming. In addition to the large freezing-chamber at these works, there is a large chamber providing adequate storage. For details of the plant, see Appendix N. The other plant, that of N.Z. Eisheries, Ltd., was found to be in good condition and under adequate supervision. This plant is designed for the handling of fish, and plenty of refrigeration is available to take care of the sudden fluctuations in loading. The chambers are spacious and the layout is excellent. Plenty of piping is available in each room, and a proper log is kept of the temperatures and other data, the records being made at short intervals throughout the day. A well-laid-out icemaking plant and store has been built in conjunction with the freezer. Very low temperatures can be obtained and held by this plant, 38° F. below freezing being recorded on several of the daily logs which were selected at random for inspection. Details of the plant are supplied in Appendix N. ° V

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