TRAWLING IN THE GULF.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 67, 19 March 1919, Page 5

TRAWLING IN THE GULF.

SUGGESTIONS BY INSPECTOR. BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH. TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION". The Fisheries Commission which has j been taking evidence for several weeks regarding fishing and trawling con- [ ditions in the Hauraki Gulf, resumed at the Magistrate's Court this Mr. E. C. Cutten presiding. , Mr. L. F. Ayson, inspector of fisheries, { laid especial emphasis on the importance j of protecting the area known as the i Firth of Thames. Such bays as Omaha! were so numerous that there was no; necessity to protect them at present, j Whangaparaoa Bay was not as impor-1 tant as the Firth of Thames. He did not j suggest that because Auckland had aj lot of sheltered water the best use j should be made of it. Provided he had i the Government's sanction witness had; an idea to experiment with a graduated j series of mealies to discover a mesh that would obviate the catehinc; of schnapper I below Jib in the trawl, in his opinion nothing less than a oin mesh being suitable. About 80 per cent, of the trawlers': catches in the Hauraki Gulf consist of echnapper, the remainder being fish not! usually caught by line fishing. If it: were proved that the use of a nie%h of a certain eize would protect the small '■ fish, then only the question of the in-; terests of the line and net men, and the • sporting public would remain. Prac-1 tically the only object of the legislation ■ in recent years had been to protect: flatfish —plaice and soles. Our legisla- j tion has had the effect of minimising ' the destruction of small fish to a much j greater extent than in England. From the information given by the trawlers,' the veseels eeem to be getting as goodH catches on the 200 square miles as formerly. Mullet seemed to have increased of late years, 'being very plentiful at the Bay of Islands. Witneee was convinced that the school echnapper were the spawning echnapper. The trawlers are essential in supplying an adequate amount of fish, and witness would be opposed to any unnecessary interference ! with the industry, rhe restriction at j Tauranga van unnecessary as it had the effect' of 'limiting enterprise.' The proposal to make a three mile limit in all the bays was unnecessary. Witness did not place much stress on the suggestion that fish in the Gulf are harried by trawling.

Mr. Arson later made the following j suggestions to the Commission: —First, the scientific prospecting of the coastal waters, section by section, jjs recommended in his report of 1913," supplementary to his work in 1901 and 1907-8. \ Secondly, scientific investigation of fish J life on our fishing grounds, jln this connection he considered' a -marine biological station somewhere in the north a necessity, in order to acquire an accurate knowledge of life habits of our market fish. The marine hatchery and biological station at Portobello, Dunedin, is doing very useful work in this connection. Thirdly, full inquiry into the methods adopted in Australia with regard to the packing and transportation of fish and the methods of State marketing and distribution of fish in New South Wales and Queensland, with a view to improving the methods of transportation and distribution in the Dominion.

Mr. Ayson also recommended State assistance to returned soldier fishermen. The line Takatu-Tiri was suggested as the trawling limits in consequence of the success which had attended the vessels' operations outside the present limit, there being no necessity to reduce these limits. In view of the fact that catches of marketable fieh existed within the line, he would be satisfied with the M&takana to Tiri boundary. He suggested the Tiri-Cabbage Bay* line as an alternative .to the Thumb Point-Cape Colville line, which did not meet with the approval of the trawling masters. Rather than go from Thumb Point to Cape Colville he would prefer to sacrifice something north of Tiri. The triangle south-west of Cape Colville would be suitable ground for set nets and. long lines. All interests had to be! considered in dealing with the question. If the line were definitely tried from Cabbage Bay to Tiri he was prepared to; concede the whole of Whangaparaoa Bay. If he were left to fix the line on his own responsibility, he would, after hearing the evidence which had been given before the commission, make the line from Cabbage Bay to Tiri, thence to Mahurangi Heads. He believed the Government should at once erect a fishchilling plant at Helensville, and that some arrangement should- be made for the fishermen to contribute towards its maintenance. With regard to the erection of similar plants at Whangaruru and Mercury island, it would be sary first to have fishermen in the localities. An ice-plant would largely get over the existing difficulty of transport from Helensville. There was a possibility of a large number of men fishing , over the area inside Kawau in the early future, under Government encouragement. The fishing sport of workingmen was as worthy of consideration by the Government as that of tourists in connection with the Xew Zealand lakes.