The Southern Cross. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. INVERCARGILL, SATURDAY, NOV. 18 THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS SEAL ROOKERIES.

Southern Cross, Volume 7, Issue 34, 18 November 1899, Page 8

The Southern Cross. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. INVERCARGILL, SATURDAY, NOV. 18 THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS SEAL ROOKERIES.

Since 1894 the seal rookeries on the West Coast of New Zealand and the islands lying south have been closed to the colonists by order of the* Government. The object in view was the conservation of the seals, which the Government averred were being annihilated. We have stated they were closed ‘ to the colonists,’ and this is the point round which so much injustice is felt to be sustained by those who have been engaged in the sealing industry. It is true there is a half-yearly visit paid by the Government steamer to the depots for castaways maintained by the Government on the Snares, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, and Bounties, but to anyone acquainted with the trade this visit is about as much good in protecting the seals as a fifth wheel would be in increasing the usefulness of a coach. Except those whose business it has been to engage in this trade, and who have studied the habits of seals, very few persons even among sailors know anything of them, and the reports which reach us with monotonous regularity that ‘ no seals were seen at any of the islands ’ by officers or others on the steamer really count for nothing. If the { public or the Government expect that owing to the lengthened close season which has been in force the steamer authorities should by this time report an increase in the number of seals, then, the fact that no such increase is apparent would naturally lead to the conclusion that the colonial prohibition on the taking of seals is a

failure, and that the rookeries are being depleted by outsiders, he The fact that the steamers might go round all the islands half-a-dozen times and i not see a seal even if the rookeries were well stocked answers the objection to their not reporting any seals, as the rookeries, in the great majority of cases, are in almost inaccessible places, approachable only in a boat, by an experienced boatman, or entered from the cliffs above them, and as 1 these rookeries are known to only a limited number of people, the fact that they are missed by the steamer is no matter of surprise. The objectionable feature about the killing restriction is that no provision exists for preventing outsiders from, poaching our preserves, and that this is systematically done is the firm opinion of those who are the most likely persons to be able to judge correctly. That there is ground for this belief receives colorable corroboration in the presence of one or more foreign vessels in one or other of the island harbours nearly every time the Government steamer visits them. These gentry always have a heap of reasons why they are there—all poachers are well supplied with excuses. It seems somewhat remarkable, however, that they are usually found with two anchors down, top hamper snug, and lying in a harbour known to be iu close proximity to good sealing grounds. We must say that for ourselves we strongly incline to the belief that our seal rookeries are being utilised to enrich outsiders, and that our own colonists are left to pay the piper, and those who are in a position to prosecute the industry amongst our own merchants are being unduly imposed upon, to the loss and injury of a considerable number of men every year who could be profitably employed in sealing. We are of opinion that the sooner the Government removes the present restriction the better for the colony. To open the rookeries and allow the killing of seals, with certain restrictions to protect female seals, would tend to conserve the seals better than the present method. It might be made compulsory for each vessel to carry a Government Agent, whose salary might be met by a license fee to take seals, and whose duty it would be to report any infringement of the law. If this could not be done, then it would be better for the Government to offer to carry several cargoes of stock free to the different islands they have leased out conditionally upon the owners placing trustworthy men in charge of the stock there, such persons to be constituted Government Agents for the protection of the sealeries, and who being on the spot could give reliable information as to any poaching. Something will certainly have to be done, as the present system is becoming intolerable and constitutes a heavy financial loss, especially to this part of the colony. We trust that before next winter some steps will be taken to have matters rectified.