AT THE MOUTH OF THE WAIKANAE

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 12

AT THE MOUTH OF THE WAIKANAE

SPORT AND BUSINESS OFF KAPITI.

Trevalli, warehou, snapper, terakihi, trumpeter,, moki, blue cod, conger eel, skate, stingaree, herring, kahawai, butter fish, flounder, and shark! There's a pretty kettle of fish. Yet &■ only indicates some of the varieties which can be caught at the mouth of the Waikanae River and off the big island of Kapiti. Fishing is a sport and a business on this portion of the West COoi<t, and, if anything, more o£ a sport tlwn a business. Kajpiti has always been renowned as a fishing ground, and in this connection it retains much-of its glory_. For a sportsman the place is ideal, "except that the coast is rather far from the railway,' and the means of conveyance inadequate. Nevertheless, a large number of city people go to the Waikanae and Paraparaumu beaches for the' sport of fishing, and the time never hangs heavy. As already indicated; every class of fish known in New Zealand waters is to be found near Kapiti. If the weather is suitable, a day off Kapiti usually means a boatload of fish.—fish caught by hook and line. . - ' A ROMANTIC SPOT. *' Kapiti is not what it used to be," said Mr. M. Donovan, a fisherman, who has been at the mouth of the Waikanae for many years, "but it is, still very good." *Mr. Donovan resides in a big wooden building, which has a rqmantio connection with the early days in the Wellington Province. It was once a licensed publichouse known to all travellers at Arapawhaite. Coaches going up and down the coast used to change horses here, and the grass-cover-ed coach track down to the beach can still be traced without any difficulty. It is near here that Bishop Hadfield is said by some .people to have preached his first sermon to the Maoris of the district. Across the river can be seen the big .sandhills on which many a bloody battle was fought by the Maoris, and often the wind -exposes human bones. But this is a diversion. Let us return to the subject of this article. NOT IDEAL. Mr. Donovan, better known throughout the district as " Micky" Donovan, viewing the fishing from a commercial standpoint, stated that it was somewhat spasmodic. Every class of fish could be obtained, but the fishing ground was so far removed from the marketable centres that fishing had to be completely suspended during the ,jhot summer months. " Wei do practically no fishing iv January and February," said Mr. Donovan. "Our means of conveyance across the -hot sand to the station are so slow that the fish would not keep fresh even until it was placed on the train." It will be seen, therefore, that ■the Waikanae and Paraparaumu beaches are not the ideal places for commercial fishing. This, if carried out. on a big scale, must be left to the insulated trawler, because it ie in the hot months mentioned .that the fish are most prolific. BETTER MARKET THAN WELLINGTON. It is not for Wellington to deplore the loss of Kapiti fish in the summer. The fishermen on this beach have found a better market in PaJmerston North, and they send all their supplies thither. Once they used to depend on Wellington, but the treatment they received annoyed them, so they looked elsewhere, and found Palmerston North. - The Wellington market fluctuated too much to suit them. One day, perhaps, warehou would bring in Is 8d each. Encouraging, that. The fishermen would send another consignment. This time, however, there was a different story. Only 2jd. a piece. The return was always too uncertain. The fishermen had. various other complaints about Wellington as a suitable fish market, but they can find nothing wrong with Palmerston. The fish is railed from_ Paraparaumu, and'the railway facilities are regarded as' quite satisfactory. NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. Mr. Donovan is a fisherman with Home experience, and he cannot understand how it is that Kapiti should be losing its reputation as a fishing ground. " We used to go to the Dogget Bank and other famous grounds every time, and although we made enormous catches the fish never seemed to get any less. It is different in New Zealand. The fieh do not seem to have any -particular breeding giounds. One place is boomed, but as soon as it has been worked for a time the fish seem to become ' wise,' or else they make off to less frequented areas." ■ Mr. ■ Donovan instanced the Chathams. When the boom started there fish could be caught anywhere along the coast. Now it was necessary to go well away from the centres. The same experience was met with at the Sounds, and it is now being met with at Kapiti. Kapiti would not stand fishing, on a more extensive scale than is the case now. , MILLIONS OF HERRINGS. There are some fish which the parti^ cular New Zealand public will not eat, although'they are unable to give any reason. There is the, kahawai, for instance. These can be caught in hundreds on the Waikanae beach, but no fisherman would ever think of sending them to a market; "We would be laughed-at," said Mt. Donovan. "Once I took ft big latch by way of experiment. I tried to sell them at Paekakariki, but I only got rid of 5s or 6s worth, and I destroyed the rest. I couldn't even give them away." Besides kahawai, there were herrings, which could be caught at the river mouth by the thousand, and perhaps the million. But the public would not buy them. "They deserve to have to pay dearly for fish," was Mr. Donovan'6 concluding remark. "The people want to .be educated to .the value of the varieties they now look upon with so much disfavour."