TOHEROAS SUFFOCATED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 59, 10 March 1932, Page 3

TOHEROAS SUFFOCATED.

NINETY-MILE BEACH.

OPINION OF FISH EXPERT.

EASTERLY GALES RESPONSIBLE

The tohcroa mortality on the NinetyMile Beach was referred to this morning by Mr. A. E. Hefford, Chief Inspector of Fisheries. He said he had not made investigations so far, and there was no Departmental officer in the district, but he was inclined to the opinion that the mortality was primarily due to easterly gales, the beach being covered with dry sand blown from the sandhills on the landward side by the strong and continuous easterly winds, and the toheroas presumably being suffocated.

There had been a similar occurrence in April, 1930. It was then noticed that the large-sized shellfish were affected more than the smaller ones. Similar mortality, but not, perhaps, on so large a scale, has been noticed in former years when strong easterlies had been experienced. Certain parts of the beach, where there was not much vegetation inland, became covered with dry sand between high and low tide marks, where the fish were to be found, and they were deprived of oxygen.. He did not think there was anything in the theovy that the winds had driven the plankton on which the fish existed. In his opinion toheroas would not suffer any great harm by being deprived of food for a few days, but they would be more likely to suffer if their supply of oxygen was cut off.

Mr. Hefl'ord said the actual cause of the mortality might easily be determined by a few simple experiments, but until they had been carried out it was unsafe to come to any definite conclusions. He did not think that motor car traffic had any connection with the matter, because the mortality would have occurred earlier. There was no doubt that oil from cars was detrimental to some extent, but the people in the cars would cause more harm than the oil as far as depletion of the beds was concerned. It was obvious that the advent of many cars meant the exit of many toheroas.

"We have found a clear relation between the accessibility to toheroa beds and the density of toheroa population," said Mr. Hefford. "They are scarce where the beds arc most accessible, but in remote beds rarely visited there is usually a good supply."