OYSTER BEDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22172, 27 July 1935, Page 16

OYSTER BEDS

HISTORY RECALLED CHIEF INSPECTOR'S REVIEW . CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES PROSPECTS FOR NEXT YEAR "Oysters have been eaten since the Stone Age, as is shown by the presence of great quantities of oyster shells accompanied by remains of primitive human implements in the prehistoric kitchen middens that have been excavated in Northern Europe," said Mr. A. E. Hefford, chief inspector of fisheries, in an address o:n "Oysters, Toheroas and Pipis" at a meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society. '•"In New Zealand t!be rock oysters of the North were in the earlier days free natural resources, open to everyone to use or abuse a:i he pleased. Then followed the era of ;& degree of Government control, in that only holders of licences were allowed to pick. This did not help to conserve supplies, for every licensed picker., naturally, tried to get as many marketable oysters as he could in the shortest possible time. They had to work while the beds were exposed by the tide, and the picker was not concerned regarding the condition of the beds in the years to come. Beds Rapidly Depleted "It is therefore no wonder that the rork oyster beds were rapidly depleted, and the Government ivas forced to prohibit further picking in certain areas for a period of years. The principal | areas were closed, sometimes entirely j and sometimes in rotation, between the j rears ISB6 and 1906. and in 1908 the | Government took over the control and , picking of the beds. "Since that year all oyster picking j ' —all legal oyster picking, that is—has been done by the Marine Department, j The oyster areas in the Hauraki Gulf, in, the Bay of Islands, and, since 1929, in the Kaipara Harbour, have been j patrolled by permanent inspectors of j fisheries. *Uesides the picking and protection : of the beds the depart ment has carried on cultivation work isince 1911, when the transplanting of oysters to depleted beds in Hauraki Gulf was commenced. It was extended to the Coromandel coast and other areas during the following years. PiTe Years for Marketable Size Mr. Hefford showed lantern slides of artificial rock walls made in the Bay of, Islands. "We have now had over 10 years' experience with tihese rock walls and have had time to appreciate their Advantages and drawbacks," he said. "In New Zealand it appears to take at least five years for a rock oyster to grow to a size suitable for marketing. The harvest of a cultivation project, whether in the form of commercial re- " turns or of experimental date, therefore, has to he awaited with some patience. 1 ' Decline ia Pioduction Erom 1908 to 1934 the- average annual production of irock oysters hr.d been 6896 sacks. This maximum year ■was 1908, the first year of the departmental picking, with 11,005 sacks. From 1911 the total did not fall below 60Q0 till 1928, and it had remained below that total since 193Q, with a minimum production of 1414 in 1932. It would be smaller stilil this year, but j the prospects were brighter for 1936 , and 1937. Toheroas apparently tolerate over-; ■crowding, Mr. Hefford said. Estimates ©f the toheroa population on the Ninetymile Beach were not 'less than 11} millions of toheroas over three inches in length spread along 30 miles of beach. The toheroa, added Mr. Hefford, in conclusion, grew at about the rate of one inch per annum.