DECREASE OF WHITEBAIT.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 303, 21 December 1921, Page 7

DECREASE OF WHITEBAIT.

(To the Editor.) ■<\r, —That tin- white-bait in the Waikato arc decreasing is a fact we cannot hide, and it is due to the increase ot population ami an open season of five or six months, resulting in too many being caught and leaving very few to breed from. People appear to forget that tiic population or Auckland is nowover 100.000, and 'Hamilton 10.000, anil other towns near show large increases in population. There are very few trout in the Waikato River below Hamilton. They will not stay there as there is too much moving sand and pumice and thoee that are there can obtain a. superabundance of fopd withi out 'hunting the whitebait. In the ;\Vaima.Tia Rover the trout arc numcr'oiiS, and so are the whitebait, also in 'the Yv'hakataue, Tarawera, Rangitikci. etc. It is quite a mistake to say that the enanga have been wiped out by the trout in. the Rotorua IJakes. It is quite the contrary, and the still jafford a plentiful"supply of food for the ; native, although they much prefer trout, especially during close season, but there 'is no close season for enanga, and 'therefore they must dc-eTcase due to the large numbers taken by the natives. Anyone fishing on the shores of the Rotorua Lake a lew days after a gale of wind blowing on shore would quickly admit the presence of enanga in the lake because the iteneh from the' large quantities of dead enanga. thrown ■up by the waves on the shore makes it nearly impossible to stay in the vicinity. [This has also 'been pomted out to mc at iTaupo, and I have often observed it I myself. To conserve the whitebait, it I will be necessary to shorten the season I for taking them to, say, two months, ! middle of J.uJy to middle of September, ly.nd on no account should any races, leads or set nets be used to take them. The small hand net is the best means and does less harm than any other ! system. T very much doubt that the I l'aciiic salmon would effect the w-hite-,'bait supply, .becavse they feed very frugally when running up the river to spawn. Their one object is to spawn , and get back to the sea. where an 'abundant food supply is -waiting them, i The Auckland Acclimatisation Society are taking up the decrease of whitebait with the Oovermnent, and are obtaining I evidence from those living on the Waii kato from Mercer to the Waikato Head.-, both native and European, and tile urgent necessity of 10 months' close season. iAt a later date I hope to be able to give vote a summary of this evidence for publication.—l am., etc., GECILr A. WHiITXEY.