DOMINION FISHERIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18694, 28 April 1924, Page 8

DOMINION FISHERIES.

VAST UNTOUCHED GROUNDS. POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS. | CHIEF INSPECTOR'S YIEWg, [BY TKr,WaUPH.-OWX CO«»tsPOWJBrI'-: WANGAKT7I. Saturday i At the annual meeting of the Wangannl Acclimatisation Society, the Chief InL, tor of Fisheries, Mr. L. F. Ayson, de* ; clared in connection with the supply 0 edible fish from the sea surrounding NewZealand that there were great resources that so far had hardly been scratched. ' Only one-twentieth of the valuable «a« fishing grounds had been exploited. H e '. hsd investigated the area yf sea water under 100 fathoms,' from the coast out-' wards, and had computed -hat there were 9000 square miles of fishing grounds under' that depth. Linemen could, of course go much deeper. *

Of the trawling grounds, after allowing for an area of rough bottoms, over which it was impossible to trawl, there were still available about 50,000 square miles. In the Wanganui Bight, said Mr. Ayson, the prospects for fishing were bright These were beautiful trawling grounds and he could not understand why tr&w! ling was not carried on more successfully here. ' In a reference to the seine method of catching fish, Mr. Ayson said that the results in the Hauraki Gulf, so far as the size of the catch was concerned, were as good as those from steam trawlers while the cost was much less. He hoped ma few years to see a fleet of seine fashing boats centred on Wanganui. , Off the mouths of the Wanganui, Rangitikai and Manawatu Rivers, there should be good fishing grounds for flounders and ? other varieties of fish. In one respect, said Mr. Ayson, ".few Zealand led the world. This was in the successful establishment of Atlantic and; quinnat salmon. Other coutries had tried to establish them, but had failed. Argentina, for instance, had endeavoured to acclimatise the fish in the waters of that' country, but so far with no result^..;