H—ls

The annual totals landed at Auckland over the past five years are given below :

Thames.—Out of the total catch, of 10,824 cwt. landed at Thames during 1946, 9,437 cwt. was caught by nets, of which 3,777 cwt. was snapper and 3,591 cwt. flounder. A considerable drop in the total quantity of fish landed this year is evident. In 1945, 17,245 cwt. was caught, compared with 10,824 cwt. in 1946. A small proportion of this decrease can be accounted for by the fact that no Danish-seine boat operated from this port during 1946. The methods of capture in the annual totals landed at Thames during the past five years are given below :

Tauranga.—A decrease of 1,043 cwt. is shown by the 1946 figures (6,416 cwt.) compared with 1945 (7,459 cwt.). This is mainly accounted for by the fact that although the trawl-caught fish has increased from 1,783 cwt. to 2,579 cwt. (due to the one trawler operating for nine months in 1946 instead of six months as in 1945), the catch landed by the motor line and net vessels has gone down. A Danish-seine-equipped boat commenced fishing in September and landed 364 cwt. of fish during the last four months. The tables below summarize the methods of capture and kinds of fish respectively during the past five years :

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— 1942-43. 1943-44. 1944. 1945. 1946. Total quantity landed Snapper Tarabihi Flounder Gurnard Cwt. 105,106 73,604 16,470 3,904 1,447 Cwt. 103,882 75,153 12,128 5,489 1,361 Cwt. 111,078 79,844 18,289 1,857 3,206 Cwt. 122,789 81,706 23,965 2,047 5,570 Cwt. 141,406 93,792 27,788 1,457 7,370

Method of Fishing. 1942-43. 1943-44. 1944. 1945. 1946. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Danish seine 1,864 2,229 1,273 582 Set-nets and drag-nets 9,833 15,545 18,361 16,483 9,437 Other methods 944 528 57 180 1,387 Totals 12,641 18,302 19,691 17,245 10,824

Method of Fishing. 1942-43. 1943-44. 1944. 1945. 1946. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Danish seine 3,035 2,518 2,907 418 364 Set-nets and lines 4,664 7,008 7,578 5,228 3,415 Other methods 227 20 1,813 2,637 Totals .. 7,926 9,546 10,485 7,459 6,416 " 1942-43. 1943-44. 1944. 1945. 1946. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Total quantity landed 7,926 9,546 10,485 7,459 6,416 Snapper 4,154 4,032 4,152 2,513 1,459 Tarabihi 290 29 1,057 1,289 1,917 Trevally 1,113 1,826 2,509 1,219 1,091 Kahawai 294 649 732 1,070 1,029