FISHING RIGHTS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 19051, 2 July 1924, Page 4

FISHING RIGHTS

Legislation in regard to fishing rights in the rivers and lakes of the Dominion was foreshadowed in the Speech by the Governor-General (Lord Jellicoe) at the opening of Parliament, when he said:—“Legislation is necessary to prevent the sale of such rights, whether in gross or as attached to riparian ownership, and especially to prevent the acquisition by persons not resident in the Dominion of power to exclude others |rom certain waters. A Bill having those objects will be laid before you. My Ministers anticipate that you may find it necessary to postpone finally settling the whole subject-mat-ter pending special investigation into the nature and existence of the rights, but that you may consider it sufficient in the meantime to prohibit any such dealings.” It has been obvious for some time that legislation in the direction indicated was necessary, and it is the outcome of the experiences of anglers who visited Lake Taupo last season. One of the finest fishing waters in the world is the delta where the Tongariro River debouches on the lake, a limited area which has been the cause of considerable heartburnings. In past years the unwritten law was that the first angler to take up a position had the right of possession of a site until he relinquished it. Of late there has been a tendency to commercialise the spot, and claims—many of which were obviously fictitious—were made to many of the best fishing spots. It has jarred on overseas visitors to find that at some of the best angling localities they were expected to pay liberally for the right to follow the banks of certain streams or even wade in the lake. Whether such claims could have been legally sustained is open to doubt, but the fact remains that toll was asked for, and paid. New Zealand is proud of the fact that the Dominion offers some of the finest fishing in the world, and that it is one of the greatest of the tourist attractions. It would be a thousand pities if anything in the nature of old world riparian rights or rented fishing waters were allowed in this country, therefore the prospective legislation has everything to commend it.