asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state the present average cost of building a 50-foot fishing vessel adequately diesel-engined and also the additional cost of equipping such a vessel for (1) herring fishing; (2) mackerel fishing; (3) seining or ring nets; (4) long lining, and (5) trawling, and, further, if he will state the cost pre-war and to-day of herring nets, mackerel nets, coils of 120-fathom rope and the various types of ring nets and trawls.
Written Answers. - Cost of Fishing Vessels.
The price of a 50-foot fishing vessel depends, in present-day circumstances, not only on the materials and the equipment of a particular boat but also on the location of the yard in which it is built, conditions of wages, availability of materials, etc. Consequently, it is not feasible to quote a figure of cost which can be regarded as average, but so far as the experience to date of the Sea Fisheries Association is concerned, prices of 50-foot boats adequately powered range between £4,300 and £4,800.
The complement of gear and the type of nets used by a 50-foot vessel depend upon local conditions and the cost of equipping it for the various kinds of fishing is not, accordingly, uniform. The cost can, however, be ascertained from the particulars given below of the present-day prices of the various types of nets and fishing gear when the equipment required in a particular case is known.
The prices charged by the manufacturers before the outbreak of war in 1939 and at present for the types of fishing gear mentioned by the Deputy are as follows:—
|
Description of gear |
Cost in 1939 |
Cost in 1950 |
||||
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
£ |
s. |
d. |
|
|
Herring Nets:— |
||||||
|
55 yds. × 18 score × 31 rows |
3 |
13 |
0 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
|
60 yds. × 16 score × 29 rows |
3 |
12 |
6 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
|
Mackerel Nets:— |
||||||
|
100 yds. × 12 score × 26½ rows |
5 |
5 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
|
100 yds. × 10 score × 26½ rows |
4 |
15 |
0 |
21 |
12 |
0 |
|
Trawls:— |
||||||
|
Belfast 18 fathom |
10 |
10 |
0 |
38 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fleetwood do. |
10 |
16 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
|
Stuart 16 do. |
Not in use |
19 |
10 |
0 |
||
|
Rope:— |
||||||
|
All sizes |
43/- |
218/- |
||||
|
per cwt. |
per cwt. |
|||||
|
Seine Nets:— |
||||||
|
Plaice |
10 |
0 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
0 |
|
Whiting |
15 |
0 |
0 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
|
Lines (per 8 troughs) |
20 |
0 |
0 |
58 |
0 |
0 |