H—ls

Snapper landings, 44-2 per cent, lower than in 1939-40, were the poorest since 1932-33, and incidentally one has to go back to this year to find a better flounder catch. There has been little change at Tauranga, but the Gisborne landings show an increase of 4-1 per cent, over the previous year, which, in its turn, produced 114 per cent, more than in 1938-39. Over half of the catch consisted of tarakihi landed from the trawlers. The Napier fish returns show an increase compared with the previous year, the total being 16,469 cwt., as against 13,745 cwt., the total flat-fish landings having risen by 840 cwt. and the round fish by 1,884 cwt. Trawler landings increased from 1,327 to 1,556, Danish-seine landings from 215 to 254, and line landings from 639 to 706. The diminution by 3,853 cwt. of the total catch of wet fish for Wellington is exceeded by the decline in steam-trawler landings, which fell from 26,706 cwt. in 1939-40 to 17,656 cwt. in 1940-41, a difference of 9,050 cwt. Only one steam-trawler was in full-time operation, supplies from this vessel being supplemented by catches from two part-time motor-trawlers. The steam-trawlers, operating for the most part on the Cape Campbell, Kaikoura, and Castlepoint grounds, made 78 voyages, in comparison with the 124 recorded in 1939-40, and brought in 51-2 per cent, of the total quantity of fish landed. Tarakihi constituted 65-8 per cent, of the catch, red cod 104 per cent., barracouta 4-4 per cent., moki 4-3 per cent., hake 2-6 per cent., and snapper 1-7 per cent. The Italian fishing-fleet was idle for a period of six weeks, and a further restriction was] put on these vessels by the placing of Cape Campbell out of bounds; gear was sometimes in short supply and fishing operations were thus more dependent on favourable weather conditions than hitherto. Nevertheless, the year was a good one for the Wellington long-line boats. Groper landings declined, but ling and hake landings, especially the former, showed a marked increase. The ling catch, which rose by 1,150 cwt., or 137-4 per cent., is due chiefly to the more intensive fishing for this species. Improved handling of bait was an aid to the more successful catching of hake, which was in good supply in Palliser Bay, especially during the months of March, November, and October. The fish-carrier " South Sea " visited Wellington on two occasions during the early part of the year and landed a total of 2,697 cwt. of blue cod and 72 cwt. of groper, valued at £1,593, from the Chatham Islands. A decrease of 60 cwt. is recorded in the quantity of fish shipped by steamer from the French Pass, which represents a decrease of 2-3 per cent, compared with the total for the preceding year. While the blue cod, groper, and snapper landings have fallen off slightly in this area, butterfish catches have shown a fairly substantial increase. The main features of the fishery conditions for the other ports can be gathered from -the appended tables. In the Otago District the flat-fish catches were much the same in quantity as in hut the proportion of flat fish to the total quantity of fish caught was only 39-5 per cent., compared with 59-5 per cent, in the previous year. Then, however, the steam-trawler " Hananui " was only in operation for one month, whereas during the year under reviow she was fishing full time and, being a deep-sea trawler, brought in very little flat fish. Exports and Imports. The quantities and values of different classes of fishery products imported and exported are given in Table V (p. 31-32), supplied by the courtesy of the Customs Department. The total value of imports for the year, consisting almost entirely of canned fish and shell-fish, amounted to £70,415, which is the lowest on record since 1909 with the exception of the slump year 1921. It is slightly exceeded by the total of £70,926 recorded for the year 1932, which also was affected by financial depression. The total value of exported fish and shell-fish for the year is £166,353, an increase over last year's figure of £149,882, but below the totals for 1938-39 and the two preceding years. The total vatoe of exports of frozen fish (£120,734) is slightly above that of last year (£119,999). The exports of snapper have fallen to less than half, and tarakihi shows some diminution. Flounder exports have increased ; blue cod are slightly down in quantity but up in value ; and the exports of various sorts of frozen fish under the heading " other kinds " have been doubled. Among canned goods exported, oysters remain at about the same level, but whitebait, crayfish, and toheroa all show substantial increases. Rock Oysters. The picking of rock oysters for the 1940 season commenced on 15th May. The Auckland depot was open for sales on 30th May, and closed on 10th August. The condition of the oysters was, on the whole, very good and the demand throughout the season was keen. The total production for the season was 5,782 sacks. This compares well with the average for the 1930-39 decade, which was 4,605, but it falls much below the average of 6,717 for the 1920-29 decade when, it is now considered, the beds were overpicked. It seems improbable that the annual production for the market can be maintained at its present figure without risking diminution of future production unless cultivated areas are extended; but it is of no use extending the beds by artificial help unless they ca,n be adequately protected. The yield of oysters from the various areas is shown in Table 111 (page 31). It will be noticed that the beds in Whangaroa Harbour provided 24 sacks of oysters, thanks to the protection from poaching afforded by the local Inspector of Fisheries to the new stock that had been created as the result of an exceptionally good spawning season in 1934-35. Previously Whangaroa had yielded 21 sacks in 1929 and 164 sacks in 1922, but in the interim had remained for several years without surveillance.

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