TAUPO FISHING SEASON

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28983, 26 August 1959, Page 18

TAUPO FISHING SEASON

No Limit On Bag . Suggested

1 "The Press" Special Service I ROTORUA. August 25. I A year-round fishing season at I iTaupo, with no bag limit and no] size limit, may be the result of a ■ i.ree-year research programme. It 1 ihas led to the conclusion that the] Taupo fishery is under-exploited I lat present. Representatives of Taupo angling! I organisations were told this at] I their annual conference with the] Internal Affairs Department. They | unanimously agreed to support any such changes. I The chairman of the conference. Mr H. L. E. Perryman, Assistant Secretary for Internal Affairs, said that any changes could not be implemented before the 1960 fishing I season. Mr B. T. Cunningham, senior fishery officer for the Marine Department, said it had been concluded from research that Lake Taupo's fish population could standi increased exploitation in spite of! increased licence sales. Many old; fish were still running to spawn 1 and a major change was necessary] to enable available food stocks to be usfd better. Mr Cunningham reported “a ] sharp downward trend" in average: ‘weight of Taupo trout from be-j j tween 4 and 4»5 pounds from 1951 to 1956 to 3.6 pounds during the] 1957-58 season, and to 3.25 pounds] last season. The average length of fish during the last three sea-] :son« had also decreased. 1