Licences For Anglers

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29067, 2 December 1959, Page 20

Licences For Anglers

The angler whose interest in the sport extends only to an occasional day’s fishing—particularly salmon fishing—will again have to pay the full licence fee for this privilege this season, but if the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society’s council takes heed of angling opinion as expressed at the society's annual meeting last week, it seems likely that next season the short-term licences available for several seasons up to 1957-58. will be on sale again. It is to be hoped that the council will adopt this recommendation for 8 number of reasons. Last February, during the height of the salmon season, an article on this page supported the reintroduction of short-term licences on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, as a means of alleviating, partially at least, the friction caused through the quasilegal operation of the kahawai fisherman, and as a means of minimising poaching. Higher Fee : Many anglers took the view rightly or wrongly, that the short-term licences had been abandoned in an effort to force the occasional anglers into buying the full-term licence at 30s. The occasional angler, who might fish only two or three times in a season, felt that 30s was a high price to pay for a few days’ fishing with no guarantee of any return, and some of them, rather than pay the 30s, fished without a licence. The incidence of poaching was reported to have been high. In these circumstances, some sympathy was felt for the poacher. He would get none if short-term licences were available.