WHITEBAIT TRAP

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21190, 10 November 1938, Page 11

WHITEBAIT TRAP

FISH MERCHANT CONVICTED By Telegraph—Press Association BLENHEIM, November 9. Fishing for whitebait at the mouth of the Wairau river with a set net cost William Marshall Merrigold, a fine of £5 when he was charged with the offence in the Magistrate’s Court. The prosecution was made by the Collector of Customs, who stated the trap was a evlindrieal affair with wings on each side, and it effectually prevented the whitebait from going up stream. The use of traps was prohibited In the district, and the offence was looked on seriously by the Marine Department. Defendant bad said that he had been experimenting with the trap for use on the West Coast, but that excuse was hardly reasonable, because traps were also prohibited on the West Coast. If t”aps were used indiscriminately, there would soon be no whitebait. There had been three gallons of whitebain in the trap. Merrigold was a fish dealer, and the Department wanted to see the practice of securing whitebait by this method suppressed. The offence was very difficult to detect. The Magistrate said he must accede to the application for a severe penalty. The offence might have been undetected all the season, in which case defendant would have made a substantial profit from an illegal practice.