ACCLIMATISATION

Grey River Argus, 23 September 1932, Page 8

ACCLIMATISATION

GREY DISTRICT SOCIETY Annual Meeting The annual meeting of the Grey District Acclimatisation Society was held on Wednesday evening, and was the most successful from the point of view of numbers that has been held for a number of years, Mr P. Beck presiding over an attendance of sixty enthusiastic members. Apologies for absence were received from Messrs F. Boustridge, A. Hamill, J. Hayton, and G. McPherson. The annual report, as under, was taken as read and adopted. ANNUAL, REPORT. The annual report stated receipt;* for the year ending March 31, 1932, were £4.00 2s lOd, whilst expenditure amounted to £504 13s lOd, necessitating the withdrawal of £lOO from the Post Office account to meet liabilities. Of this, £B3 17s lOd for a fish ladder and £249 Is 7d for trout hatching, ant £2l 15s lid liberating costs, will nor be recurring, but expenditure will re quire to be reduced. It is gratifying that so heavy an outlay on hatching, ova, etc., has been ivithout recourse to overdraft;, By again conducting hatchery operation with the Westland Society the usual heavy stocking of Grey District rivers was undertaken, the result being again very satisfactory and all fry being liberated in prime condition, which reflects high credit on the hatchery curator, Mr RidlandA total of 250,000 brown trout fr v were liberated in the usual proportion* in th,. Grey Rivet, Sawyers Creek, New River, Kamaka Creek, Red Jack’s Creek, Nelson Creek, Warren’s Creek and Ahaura River; 250,000 rainbow trout fry were hatched and liberated in the Crooked River tributary at Rotomanu, these being also particularly healthy. Trout fishing, according to reports sent in by anglers in all parts of the district the season 1931-32, proved that the stocking of the rivers has had a wonderful effect. Catches have been well sustained and fish were in good condition. Thp outstanding fish for the year was a brown 151 b weight, of perfect proportions taken in the lower Grey River by Mr Harold Holmes, of Greymouth. Minnow fishing throughout thp district proved excellent. The Grey River yielded the majority of the catches for the season. The top end of the river was full of fish in thp autumn while the darly part saw the best bags taken near the mouth. A feature was the. grea! number of bright-scaled sea-run trout taken in the lower stretches of the River. The Arnold River had a good number of fair fish taken from it, and >t is conceded that the stoppage o'

sawdust pollution aided thp supply of feed. Numbers of well conditioned fish wore taken on the fly. but this form of fishing is limited to parts of the river which are open. The majority of places arc badly overgrown with scrub. Th > catches on Lake Brunner are reported to have been, :.s usual, heavy till mid-summer, and th -n very few for the rest of thp year. Flyfishing is rarely practised on thp Lake but should yield very well if more Widely indulged in. Thp illegal spe:*r ing of trout during the season has been responsible for depletion of the supply there. Very few reports of the Crooked River were sent in, a ::d •he one's sent proved very disappoi.itng, there being evidence of much disturbance of the fish by poachers.. Anglers there found few fish available. Anglers are requested to forward particulars of any rainbow trout caught from this river. These fish should be showing up and should be of a fair size and weight, as over half a mil lion fry have been liberated during the last few years, under ideal conditions. Nelson Creek is one of the finest. fly streams in the district and maintains a very fair average of fish, which, although they do not run largely» give excellent sport to the anglers of that locality. No great yields came from Ahaura this year, and fishermen who journeyed ther e did not have much lurk. The river holds many good fish and will doubtless show greater returns later. Big Grey and Rough Rivers hold very good fish, the Big Grey in particular. Many good bags were taken here on the fly, while the Rough River is almost exclusively fished with th l? , minnow, big fish only being taken. The New River was poor during the entire season, The mouth blocks up occasionally, and as the river becomes very low during the finp weather, few fish stay in ns waters. The Teremaku had an abnormal run of good heavy fish this year, and the results of several parties were astounding. Fish over 111 b were frequent, and practically all were taken on the minnow. Perch have obtained a fair size and are numerous in the holes and lagoons. Distribution is proceeding but is necessarily slow owing to the rough locality and method of capture of the fish. Numerous shags, the heads of which were paid for to the tune of £42 10s 6d were shot and sent into th e secretary, bur still the numbers are great. The damage done to the trout stock is very drastic, and the shooters ancl anglers will benefit th<> Society and themselves by further culling. It is estimated that with but 500 shags in the entire district the numbers of fish are reduced by not less than half a million small trout [per annum. Thp shooting season has been one of the worst on record, and the cause is ascribed to too much clear weather and too much shooting out of season by poachers. The sane.tua.rv at Omoto and Lake Ryan also have had good flocks of ducks during thp summer, and the various lakes in thp Moana district held good flocks, but th n . birds had been so harrassed that they became shy and retreated further afield. The. Totara Flat, has good flocks which were difficult to approach as they always camped out on the wide river bed. Har e . shooting still provides good sport and usually parties arrive home w’ith good bags. Coal Creek Flat, Totara Flat, Rotomanu and Barrytown are sources of

good sport and shooters report that numbers are up to th c usual. Black swans ar e . still very scarce excepting at Lake Brunner and Lake Poerua, where fair sport has been obtained. Canadian geese have not so far multiplied and no bags have been reported. Deer, both red and fallow, have been taken in the back country by numerous stalkers, and it appears that the method adopted has proved lhai. deer will not noticeably increase while shooting is free the year round. The market for opossum skins has collapsed and trappers find skins ar e not worth the time and exipens e . involved in securing them. The stock of opossums in the forest is also so depleted that it is the intention to cease trapping for this season at least, with a re compncndation to continue the closed season until stocks improve and prices for skins are worthy of the effort. The services of a ranger have been utilised mul the district patrolled. In various localities poaching has been rampant, and i n this particular, the visits of the ranger have been gratifying. 'l'he work of lion, rangers is to b P commended, and th e council thanks those rangers and the police for the good work undertaken. Convictions have been obtained and the efforts of the. Ranging Committee havp. been directed tn cleansing the district of the malicious theiving of the game, for which all sportsmen contribute. The placing of a fish ladder on the Kaimata Dam is nearing completion, and the money spent thereon will prove a stable asset to sportsmen. The structure has been approached by the Chief Inspector of Fisheries. Mr Hefford, and passed bv the Consulting Engineers, so that when the dam is in active operation, all fish will be able to readily ascend th, P Arnold River when passing through the spawning grounds in the Moana district. The statement of receipts and expenditure for the year ending March, 31st, 1932, and balance sheet, were as follows: — RECEIPTS.

LIABILITIES. Secretary’s Salary to 31/3/32 16 13 4 Balance 1190 8 6 Total £1207 1 10 ASSETS. Balance B.N.Z. 46 10 II Less Un presented Cheques 11 1 0 35 9 11 Balance Post Office 40 11 4 Interest Post Office 5 11 Fixed Deposit Union Bank 1000 0 0 Outstanding Fishing Fees 57 12 10 Outstanding Opossum Fees (estimated) 60 0 0 Imprest Petty Cash A/c. 8 6 8 Total £1207 1 10 The President, referring to the receipts and expenditure, said that thc position was that they had been living beyond their means. Last year the expenditure had exceeded the receipts by £lOO, and it had been decided not to liberate any fish this year, and instead to employ more rangers to conserve those already liberated. |The balance sheet was very much the same as last year. It was decided, after some discussion, that all those nominated for office as councillors go to the poll, whether present, or absent with, or without apology. The President said that, before vacating the chair, he wished to thank the councillors for the assistance given during the past year, and also all the members and the secretary. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The election of officers resulted as follows: — Councillors (Town Members): P. Beck, E. M. Holmes, J. Smith, *E. P. Heinz, Dr. McKay, Dr. Bird. A. 11. Milne, E. R. Holmes, 11. C. Garde, R. Webber, T. Crankshaw, P. C. Heaphy, T. J. Higgins, N. McCallum. (Country Members). — G. R. Dixon, G. McPherson, R. Curtis, L Mori, D. Melvor, J. L. Hill. J. Rowsc, and W. Nimmo. President: Mr P. Beck (re-elected unopposed); Vice-Presidents: Messrs E. M. Holmes, L. Mori, Dr. W. McKay, E. Heinz, G. R. Dixon. The annual rangers’ reports were read and received as satisfactory. Mr R. Curtis, wrote stating that he considered that the fishing season should be shortened by the month of April, to prevent the taking of fish heavy with ova and thus the fish could be conserved and less liberation of ova would be necessary, and some of the money thus saved could be diverted to expenditure on shooters. The Chairman said that the question originated from the Westland Society > who wrote some time ago asking for an opinion on the matter, although | they had turned down the proposal themselves. He, the Chairman, did not spp how they could shorten the season unless the other societies acted in the same way. Mr Mori said he aid not see where any difference came w in whether the fish were killed at the beginning of the season or at the end. Mr Curtis said that the Society was not expending much on shooting, yet £260 had been spent last year on ova. anl he thought the Society could save some of this liberating expense by shortening the season. Mr Stubbs said that the season was

fixed by Statute and it was a question 1 of whether they could do anything. Personally he did not think it made .any difference whether the fish were I at the beginning or the end of the season. The Chairman said that in regard to slooting, the revenue from game fees' last year was £2B, and the biggest part ' of their revenue came from fish. The ( Society had done the utmost to get ; game, but the price in every case had been prohibitive. Although the shooting men said more should be done for them, they did not say how to do it. On the motion of Mr Stubbs, it was decided that it be a recommendation to the incoming committee to endeavour to procure some Hungarian partridge, in conjunction with another Society. Mr E. Dumbleton wrote suggesting that the Society should reduce the cost of fishing licenses on account of the unemployment. He stated that there were men in the Blackball district who had had licenses for years, but they could not now afford the £1 and clean sports would be forced into poaching. Mr Mori moved that as it was a I matter for the Minister for Internal i Affairs, the request be not entertained. | This motion failed to find a seconder. ■ Mr Stubbs then moved that a rebate of 25 per cent be given on all full season fishing licenses during the coming year. The Chairman said that as the license fees were a matter for the committee, he would rule the motion out of order. Mr Stubbs: You rule the motion out of order? Did you rule the illegal extension of last season out of order? Being greeted with a cry of “Out of Order,” Mr Stubbs did not pursue his question further. Mr Dixon said that he did not consider that to rule Mr Stubbs’ motion out of order was fair play, and he j would move that the letter dealing with the reduction of the license fees lie dealt with by thp incoming H ommittee. This was carried. Some discussion took place on the culling of shags, but the discussion lapsed without any motion being put to the meeting.

Mr J. Hill asked what possibility there was of fish being gaffed out of the fish ladder at Kaimata. The Chairman said that he had thought of the samp thing, and considered that the committee should visit the dam and see whether the ladder could be covered in any way. Mr Hill said that he anticipated trouble with fish going up the tailrace at Kaimata and getting killed in the turbines, and this matter was also left for the committee to inspect and j consider. A vote of thanks to the chair concluded the meeting.

£ s. d. Balance, Bank of'N.Z. 31/3/31 40 1 0 Opossum fees for 1930 season 133 15 7 Fines 6 12 8 Fishing Fees 1930-31 68 4 0 Fishing Fees 1931-32 110 18 3 Game Fees 1931 28 10 0 Sale Rifles 2 2 4 Interest Fixed Deposit 50 0 0 Transfer (a> P.O. Account 100 0 0 Total £540 3 10 EXPENDITURE Hatchery Expenses 249 1 7 Liberating Expenses 20 2 5 Rangers 26 14 0 Secretary 23 6 8 Permit Sale Ammunition 10 0 Rent of Rooms 1 15 0 N.Z. Fishing & Shooting Gaz. 5 0 0 N.Z.A.S.A. 3 3 0 Rewards 4 4 0 Bank Charges & Cheque Book 2 1 0 Grev Electric Power Board 83 17 0 Freshwater Research Com. .10 0 0 Boats, Wages, etc.. Lake Ry an 5 0 0 Advertising and Printing 8 8 9 Shags ’ Heads 42 10 6 Stamps and Stationery 6 1 6 Sundry Accounts 4 1 I Imprest Petty Cash A/c. 8 6 8 Balance Bank N.Z. 35 9 11 —— —, —. Total £540 3 10