TROUT POACHING

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 133, 1 March 1929, Page 10

TROUT POACHING

STRICTER REGULATIONS NECESSARY Poachers who take trout with nets are difficult to catch, according to Mr. E. Evans, Southland delegate at the hatcheries conference, which concluded yesterday. Under Part 1 of the Fisheries Act, he said, any man could possess a net but the trouble was that often it was used illegally under Part 2. Another delegate pointed out that a net could even be placed in a. river without committing an offence, provided no trout was taken.

“It is time the difference between acclimatised and indigenous fish was wiped away,” said Mr. A. E. Hefford (Chief Inspector of Fisheries). The fishing should be subject to fishing laws instead of to acclimatisation laws. Also there was need for measures that would prevent offences instead of punishing them after they had been committed. All fishing should be licensed and therefore registered. He stressed the need for a better armoury of weapons against poachers. Another-of the difficulties to be found was the fact that “far too much amateur netfing was going on on an industrial scale.” There was an unfortunate loophole in the regulation which prohibited netting of trout and imposed a penalty where a net “is being used.” This should really read “is being used or has been used,” for then the ranger would not require to catch an offender absolutely red-handed.