ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY

Southland Times, Issue 17921, 28 April 1917, Page 6

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY

ANNUAL MEET IN'O. Mr AV. A. Stout presided over an attendance of some twenty members on tlie occasion of tho forty-ninth annual meeting of the Southland Acclimatisation Society, held last evening. The balance-sheet, which showed a very satisfactory state of affairs, was taken as read as was also tho ANNUAL REPORT. FINANCE. The financial position as disclosed by tho balance-sheet must bo considered satisfactory. There is a surplus of income over expenditure of £B7 19s UHI, as against £ST 9s Id for tlie former year. Fishing licenses have produced £Bl6 for the season now current. The revenue from this source wits £785 12s 6d for tile year ended 3ist March, *916, showing a satisfactory increase of £3O 7s 6d. Tlie amount of cash available at the end of the year was £134 4s 10d, as against £444 3s 2d at the beginning. 3n view of the troublesome times the results are entirely satisfactory to the Council. POACHING. Complaints of poaching were very rife again when the streams were low. The Ranger has been very assidious in his attempts both to prevent poaching arul to secure convictions, but the fact has to be faced that one Ranger for a district containing as many fishing streams as are to be found in .Southland, is quite inadequate to cope with the work. He has secured numerous convictions under both the Fisheries Act and tlie Animals Protection Act. and tlie thanks of tlie Society arc due to many friends for confidential information sent to members of the Council to enable poaching to be detected. The most deadly form of poaching—-by tb© use of explosives—happens also to be tbo most difficult to detect; and while it is believed that this has been used, particularly in the Oreti, the Council is satisfied that the energy of the Ranger has prevented it to a large extent. FISH OVA. Curator Friend, assisted by the Ranger, succeeded In putting up a record by laying down 1.000,000 brown trout ova last winter. Of these 140,000 were sold in Australia, 240,000 to our own Fisheries Department a>s eyed ova, some for supplying New Zealand Societies, and some for export. The ova exported all reached its destination in excellent condition. Another item worthy of remark is that the Southland and Canterbury Societies exchanged 300,000 ova for the purpose of getting a fresh strain of blood. Fry to the number of 620,000 were liberated In the Southland streams, as follows: — Oreti .. .. 125,000 Aparima .. .. 125,000 Upper AVaikiwi 25,000 Upper Waihopai .. 25,000 Upper Makarewa .. 25,000 Lora .. .. •• 60,000 Otapiri .. .. 60,000 Dunsdale .. .. 30,000 Waimatuku .. .. 25,000 Orawia .. .. 50,000 Waimnmu •• .. 20,000 Otamita ... •• 50,000 620,000 Southland is well suited for the production of hardy brown trout ova, and the sale of ova to other Societies is a branch of activity that should be fostered by the Council. It is worthy of note that all the ova, exaept a small fraction, is secured from fish taken for the purpose from the streams near the Hatchery and not from fish kept in confinement. FISHING. The season cannot be said to have been a particularly successful one from a fishing point of view. Early in the Summer the streams got very low and fish were difficult to catch, and later the heavy rain in February and March put most of tbe rivers out of order, at all events for fly fishing. Fewer fish of large size were caught than usual, until the latter end of the season, when a considerable number up to 16ibs, eacn were taken: but all the streams were well supplied with small fish, the experience of fly fishers being that they had to return the larger part of their catch. The AVaiau, which lost year returned to its old form, has this sedson been very disappointing and erratic. NATIVE GAME.

■prom reports coming to hand from , time to ttm© and from the observations of its members, the Council believes that native game is fairly plentiful, especially grey and paradise duck. Indeed the latter can be counted in thousands \ln the back country, and the Council again records its protest at the Government persisting in its refusal to declare a short open season for paradise duck under suitable restrictions. The result is; that the true sportsman is prevented from shooting these birds but the unscrupulous shoot both these and the pigeons all the year round. IMPORTED GAME.

The only Imported game in the Southland District are hares, red deer, and mallard duck which are at present protected. Hares are still fairly plentiful in several places and the average number of licenses was taken out last season. Deer are gradually become more plentiful, and are spreading across the Walau. Only three licenses, however, ■were. taken out last season, but some good heads were secured, one particularly good 14 pointer being taken. A great handicap has been that the National Park comprises most of the country where the deer abound, and that there no Dreams may be carried. Recently, however, the Government, in response to repeated applications from the Council, has been good enough to remove this restriction so far as deer stalkers are concerned, and the Council in consequence hopes to he able to record an Increase in applications for deer licenses In future years, and increased sport for license holders. The Council made renewed attempts last year to procure Californian quail, and eventually got notice from the tourist agent at Rotorua that he baa Z0 brace ready to despatch. The consent cf the Board of Agriculture was necessary before the birds could be sent here, and the Council took prompt steps to procure this, as without it the Tourist Agent would not and c<?uld not move. The Council’s application was bandied about for weeks between the Board of Agriculture, the office of the Minister for Internal Affairs, and the Tourist Department, until it became too late to get anything done. This season the Council has again taken the matter in hand and hopes to be more successful. During the year 173 mallards were hatched and reared; of this number 46 were hatched by farming out; the Council advertised for persons willing to undertake this, and the result justifies the belief that good results can be obtained by continuing the method. All have been liberated, and the stock now at the Hatchery is 32. HATCHERY.

The Hatchery and the property generally have been maintained in a satisfactory condition. During the year an engineer’s report was obtained with a view to improvement of the water supply, but as the cost was found to bo Irigh it was decided to postpone the work in the meantime. MEETINGS. During the year twelve meetings of the Council have been held. The number of meetings attended by each member of the Council is as follows; — Messrs Stout 8, Stephens S, Moffett 9, McKenzie 7, Rabbidge 8, Strang 9, Egglestone 5, Russell 7, Clark 8. Sloan 9 Wilson 7, Tapper 2, Keast 5, Stock 7, Crofts 8, Collins 4, Watson 4, Robertson ft, Haggitt 3. RETIRING MEMBERS.

In accordance with the rules the following members of the Council retire. All are eligible and will offer themselves for re-election at the annual meeting:—Messrs Clark, Tapper. Russell, Wilson, Stephens, Haggitt, and Sloan. The Auditor, Mr Hunter, also again offers his services. In moving its adoption, the president mentioned that one matter which had been overlooked in the compilation of the report was the departure of their late esteemed secretary, Mr (now 2nd Lieut.) D. Cuthbertson, who. although a second division man, had stepped out to answer the Empire’s bugle. For the rest tlie most notable achievement in the Society’s operations for the year bad been the most successful hatching of ova. They had Improved their facilities at the hatchery, but, apart from that, be felt that mucli of the success which had attended their ova hatching was attributable to the efforts of their hard-working and diligent curator. Mr

Friend. CApplause). Hr Friend was well up in all,branches of his work and it would be difficult to find a man more apt for and successful in it. They had hatched over a million ova. which was a record for the Society. All the plant was in pood repair. The Society had again been active in agitating for a short open season for paradise ducks, which were very plentiful in the hack country and were being shot regularly by those who did not come under tho heading of sportsmen. Shootists were of opinion that a short season would tend to make the birds more wild and drive them back out of the range of the illegitimates guns. They knew that pigeons were shot in several quarters, but their rangers had a large distict and it was extremely difficult to catch red-handed. At the outbreak of the war they had recognised that they could not expect to do much more than mark time until peace was restored. In the face of that it was pleasing to be able to record that the number of fishing licenses sold for Hie last season had been a record and that tho Society had been able to considerably improve its property. The motion was seconded by Hr Eustace Jlnssell and carried. OFFIC E- B KAIIE RS. The election for the ensuing year resulted: —President: Hr A. H. Stock: Vice-presidents: Messrs Jas. Collins, and E. K. Stephens; Council vacancies; Messrs R. Sloan, F, St. .1. Loughnan, Eustace Russell, AV. A. Stout. A. E. Tapper, A. B. linggitt. J. F. Robieson, ,\. W. Clark, C. AV. AVilson and P. H. A’ickery.

A vote of thanks to the chair concluded the meeting.