FRIEND OR FOE?

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17061, 20 September 1929, Page 2

FRIEND OR FOE?

' NEW ZEALAND SHAG DIET CLOSELY WATCHED Is tho shag a friend or a foe to trout in. Zealand streams ! Dbes his diet consist of eels or trout ? Quite an animated discussion was pensioned by these questions at the acclimatisation conference at Wellington. Mr. iF. Mogridge, Marlborough, said that shags in his district preyed upon eels towards the mouth of the rivers, but upon the upper reaches they undoubtedly took to trout.' Mr. P. Beck, Grey, said that shags had been shot iri his district Whi<?h were full of trout, up to nine inches long. They were the biggest problem which had to be faced in the Grey district. An Auckland delegate explained that in his district they organised shooting parties, which had disposed of as many as 700 shags in a day. There was nodoubt shags destroyed an enormous number of trout. Mr. F. Nash, Waimatc, said that it would be impossible for the large number of shags in the country to 'live exclusively upon trout. If they did there would not be ,a solitary trout in New Zealand rivers.

Mr. P. Burnley, Tauranga, said ho had seen shags kill crayfish. Ho held that the only, harmless shag was the dead one.

The president, Mr. E. O. 11. Tripp, said that what was wanted was an impartial investigation to discover just what diet shags existed upon. Investigations were being proceeded with, and in due ccfirse reports would be forthcoming from .the various districts.—Dominion.