SEAGULLS AND TROUT

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3236, 22 November 1934, Page 3

SEAGULLS AND TROUT

MENACE TO PISHING LIBERTY TO SHOOT BIRDS■ During a discussion at the Feilding Acclimatisation Society on the depredations of shags on trout, the chairman, Mr F. H. Stockwell, stated that i the shags were not the only enemies of the fisherman, for seagulls were equally as bad. On a recent day, a seagull had been seen to catch a trout at the Aorangi bridge, the bird subsequently dropping the fish on the river bed. When picked up by the observer, the trout was found to be .19 inches long, and this gave an indication of the size of fish the birds were capable of catching. Mr D. G. Fraser said there was a mistaken opinion among shooters that seagulls were protected birds, the result being that it enjoyed absolute freedom and did a great deal df damage. The fact, was that seagulls were not protected three miles from the sea, and it behoved those interested in fishing to make every effort to destroy them.