TROUT STREAMS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18672, 22 April 1926, Page 8

TROUT STREAMS.

DO SHAGS SPOIL THE FISHING ? ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY SAYS « NO » Somo fishermen regard shags as a grave menace to angling, but at its meeting last evening the Council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society decided that although the birds killed some trout, they were, on the whole, of benefit. The report of the Selwyn Committee stated that the shags seemed to be rapidly increasing and were cleaning the trout out of the holes in the upper reaches of the Selwyn. Dr. C. J. Newell said that the shags ] were creating havoc among the fish \ in the Selwyn. On one morning, 60 . birds had been counted on the river bed. Some time ago holes were teeming'with fish, and now a great number were gone. ' Mr Charles Clark: How do you , know they have not gone upstream P Dr. Newell: Have you walked up ' the river lately? Mr Clark: No. i Dr. Newtll: Well, there's no wator , for them <o swim in, and they can't travel overland. ] Mr E. F. Stead said that in on 9 pool ■ all the fish but about three lould net . have been swallowed by any bird smaller than a pelican. It was a sad fact to face, but anglers would havo , to realise that the rivers wo lid not carry so many fish now as they were , able to some years ago. The rivers were, in many cases, overstocked, aim . there was not a sufficiency of natural food. The Society was rearing ands of trout for every one cauglit, anv. the shags were not getting them. At Lake Ellesmere there was a lar?e flock of shags, and the fishing there counl hold its own with any. The principal problem before the Society was that of stocking the rivers with natural fottt to keep- up the supply of fish. The Society had been liberating milhous or ►fish for years past, and the net result was that the' fishing in all the rivers except the Selwyn was going off. In the Ashley there wore no fish from the angler's point of view. This was because the river had been overstocked in the past. The shngs were of benefit because they killed the eels, who otherwise consumed the trout food. The report of the committee >vas adopted. Mr Stead moved that after discussion on the final clause of the report the Council was of the opinion that, although the shags did take some fish from the Selwyn, on the whole they were not "doing any harm to the angling. Dr. Newoll moved as an amendment that the Council was of opinion that the large number of shags breeding on Lake Ellesmere were a distinct menace to the fishing in the Selwyn River. Mr Clark said th.it although he did not agree with Mr Stead's ideas on the matter some time ago, he hod read an article by an American, Mr Pyecroft, an expert in the matter, who put forward the same theory, and now the speaker was prepared to support Mr Stead. The amendment was lost, and the motion carried.