ANGLERS’ BASKETS

Taranaki Daily News, 22 September 1931, Page 11

ANGLERS’ BASKETS

NO LIMIT ON CATCHES. NORTH CANTERBURY DECISION.. The catches of Canterbury fishermen will not be restricted this season. At a meeting of the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society last week the resolution carried at the previous meeting, that baskets be limited to 15 ■within 24 hours, was rescinded. It was undemocratic, said Mr. Molloy, that such a motion should have been passed in the first place without its submission to a general meeting. It would be a far better thing if the council regulated the netting of trout and waged war against the poachers. Anglers took a small number compared to the enormous hauls made by the poachers. “The men who pay the license fees should have a • vote on this question,” said Mr. C. J. Holsey, who seconded the motion. Mr. K. Campion contended that, with the new hatchery, the society should be able to stock the rivers well. Fishermen should be encouraged rather than restricted. Fine catches made fine advertisements for the sport. Mr. F. Steans opposed the rescinding of the limitation. Complaints about the smallness of the fish and their scarcity had been made over the last few years. It had been said that the fish were not allowed to grow, and that was a fact. There were restrictions all over the North Island, a policy which had brought good results. One member held that most of the trout were being taken in nets. One man, he said, had had over 80 in a night. Five hundred in a week was not unheard of. “It has been my argument that where fishing is going back and the fish are getting small and scarce, the taking of the fish should be limited,” said Professor E. Percival. “We are carrying out tests at the present time to determine whether the fish in our streams are goin back or not. Breeding more is not the final solution. You cannot have a vast number of fish at the maximum weight. There are too many anglers in New Zealand, at least from the point of view of the fish.” “We have to conserve our game,” said the chairman, Mr. C. H. Lawrence. “We are not here to serve the interests of the pot-hunter. We must look after the sportsman, and provide him with a reasonable amount of sport. If a genuine sportsman gets 15 fish in 24 hours he should be well pleased and well rewarded.” The motion was earned.