Paua Fishing

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29342, 22 October 1960, Page 3

Paua Fishing

Sir, —I wish to record my protest at the extent to which this country is being exploited for private gain. This year must surely rank as the blackest in our history in the despoiling of our few remaining aesthetic treasures. Lakes, forests and even archaeological sites have all suffered at the hand of men who see everything in the form of money. Now the paua appears to be doomed to the same fate as the crayfish. They are sold in fish shops at a price which surely must make them the most lucrative form of fishing. I have always understood that these were- protected, so I would like to know from where they came and under whose authority they are being taken. I would like a statement on why the Marine Department has ignored their sale.— Yours, etc., B. NORRIS. Lyttelton, October 17, 1960. [The secretary of the Marine Department (Mr G. L. O’Halloran) said: “The position is that there is a certain demand for this shellfish in this country, particularly by those who have limited or irregular access to sea coasts. In consequence, in certain areas where paua are in big numbers, and not normally exploited by either Maori or European, they are harvested by persons duly licensed by the Marine Department. As a measure of conservation, licences are not granted adjacent to centres of population, or where the general public are used io obtaining supplies for their own needs. Then, too, licences are not granted where there is any risk of water pollution, such as in the vicinity of sewer outfalls. A further steadying effect on the exploitation of paua shellfish is the fact that export in either the raw or prepared state is not permitted at the present time.”] ■