EEL CLUB ACTIVITIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 January 1929, Page 4

EEL CLUB ACTIVITIES.

OPPOSITION BY MAORIS. NATIVES PETITIONING PARLIAMENT. ■ The activities of the various eel clubs in Taranaki have given much satisfaction to their members and to anglers generally, but the Maori does not share the joy of the pakeiia each time it is announced so many more dozen eels have been caught. The eel is regarded by the natives as a staple article of lood and there have been many expressions or dissatisfaction among the' Maoris regarding the hauls taken from the rivers by pakeha members of the clubs. This dissatisfaction has culminated in a petition to be presented to the Government, being signed by a great many natives of tlie South Taranaki district.

The Maoris contend that the restrictions placed on practically all classes of native game, which has been the loods of their people for generations, is grossly 7 unfair in that the pakeh'a has unsurped the maoris privilege of obtaining his natural food by forming clubs and constituting laws. and seasons for the taking or game and fish. The eel clubs have been formed by the pakeha with the intention of protecting the trout, but the “tuna,” the Maoris claim, is not the deadly enemy SO' many people believe. One well known native chief advanced the theory that the trout streams are polluted by milk refuse from the many dairy factories in the district. Another deadly and more voracious enemy of the trout is the black sliag: The natives maintain that the diminishing number of game birds is attributable to the cutting out of the native bush, thereby depriving the birds of their natural food. The petition, which is meeting with the support of all natives, will be presented to Parliament at ail early date.