Surprise about short-rod regs.

Press, 15 July 1980, Page 13

Surprise about short-rod regs.

Timaru reporter

Surprise that regulation 50 of the freshwater fisheries regulations, has not been abolished under the recent : aendment to the principal regulations has been expressed by the council of the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society.

The 1951 regulations provided that “no person when fishing for acclimatised fish shall, unless expressly permitted by local regulations, use a rod consisting of only one piece of a greater length than lift (3.4 M The amendment, dated May 26. 1980, deletes the words “consisting of only one piece” from tl.y principal regulation? The effect of this is that no rod over 3.4 M may be used, which poses problems for fishermen, ’ especially surf-casters, many of whom have rods over 3.4 M.

A meeting of the council of the South Canterb u r y Acclimatisation Society has decided to send a remit to the next meeting of the South Island council asking that steps be taken to have the amendment repealed.

The South Canterbury council will support a similar remi* by the Ashburton Acclimatisation

Society for the revocation of the amendment.

The secretary of the South Canterbury council (Mr R. L. Dockrill) said that he believed other acclimatisation societies were also making an approach to the South Island council on the subject. The . society’s senior field officer (Mr J. T. F. Bull) said that he was a member of the sub-com-mittee of the South Island council that had examined the regulation a few years ago. The sub-committee comprised representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and other fishing interests. “We did not go along with it: We sought the abolition of the regulation by virtue of the fact the single-piece rods were penalised at the expense of two-piece ones,” said Mr Bull. He said hi was astonished that the regulations had “turned up” as being applicable to all rods. Thought had been given at the time to the regulations as a whole, and the provision relating to fishing gear had been considered highly impracticable. Many two-piece rods would be illegal if the regulations remained and there was a need for urgency to have the regulations revoked, he said.