ACCESS FOR ANGLERS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 77, 14 March 1935, Page 7

ACCESS FOR ANGLERS

Taupo and Rotorua Position — “FISHERMEN FENCED OUT” Good Sport Now Crippled Although the question of access to fishing waters in the Rotorua an I Taupo districts has been raised late in the season, the two best fishing months April and May, are still to come. A petition is shortly to be forwarded to Parliament, asking for right of access to the various lake and river frontages which have recently passed into private ownership. It is recognised that immediate and energetic action must be taken if the few remaining areas at present open to the public are not also to be declared private property. “The position is desperate," said a well-known e authority on fishing. "Take, for instance, the Ohau channel, connecting Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti. Formerly we had a frontage of seven miles along the banks, and this was re . gurded as one of the best fishing areas in the district. Now it is reduced to ! one mile, and how long we shall have that we do not know. POSITION. ON ROTOITI. "Few of the bays on Rotoiti are any longer accessible. Settlements of re I ” cent growth line the shores; cottage.nre built down to the water’s edge; th; sections are fenced in, and fishermen fenced out. In one instance a barbed wire entanglement extends well info the lake. Nearby a garage actually overhangs the water. "For great distances the various forestry interests have encroached upon the Waikato River, access to which is : now severely restricted, and the best river fishing is placed beyond the react! of all. "Soon the position in New Zealand will be analogous to that of the Eng- . lish and Scottish salmon rivers—invio late to everyone but the privileged few. If is true there are a few launches left, but these are too expensive for geu- • eral use.’’ Fishermen take a gloomy view of the position. Fishing as a sport is in a 1 crippled condition. It is increasingly 1 difficult to advise visiting anglers where to go, and the appeal to legislation seems to be the only hope that remains. | MR FORBES’S ATTITUDE. Representations by the council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society concerning access for anglers to river and lake frontages were replied to by the Prime Minister, Mr Forbes, in a letter received at a recent meeting of the t council. He stated the matter wac purely a question of providing money ! for payment of compensation for lands taken to provide access, and in view of i the more important measures at present engaging the attention of Parliament he did not think the question could be considered during the present session. "Replying to your letter pointing ot the need for providing river acceas, particularly to waters between the Arapuni dam and Lake Taupo and easements along the river banks, your . representation and suggestions have i been noted," stated the Prime Min- ' ister. "There K abundant information ’ in our possession and we fully realise the need for reservation and the prob curation of easements along lake and t river frontages for fishing by the pub--1 lie." u It was stated that the commissioner 3 of Crown lands for the South Auckland u district, Mr K. M. Graham, would visit d Rotorua and Taupo in connection with p access for anglers, and it was decided a to endeavour to arrange for him to in t spect a portion of the Auckland dist trict -