H—ls

Sardines The landings of sardines at Picton again showed a decline over the previous year's figures. The figures for the total sardine catch at Picton for the last five years are as follows :—- Cwt. 1946 .. .. .. .. 1,191 1945 .. .. .. .. 1,458 1944 .. .. .. .. 4,281 1943-44 .. .. .. 5,339 1942-43 .. .. ..5,487 Fish-liver Oil This branch of the industry again showed a steady increase in production. Fish livers treated, 670,664 lb., an increase of 106,267 lb., and fish-liver oil produced,. 29,923 gallons, an increase of 4,900 gallons. A total of 19,221 gallons of fish-liver oil was exported. During the year one boat in Kaipara developed a school shark fishery. The venture showed good results from July to November, when the sharks were caught near the Kaipara Heads. When the sharks moved further inshore, apparently for spawning, the weight of liver per shark dropped to about one-quarter of what it had been previously and the fishery became uneconomic, as at the same time there was a drop in the demand for the flesh. Throughout the season the catch consisted practically entirely of female sharks in the proportion of approximately 1,000 females to 3 males. Whaling Five vessels with a total complement of ten men were engaged in the whale-fishing based on Marlborough Sounds and fourteen men were employed ashore at the whalefactory. The total catch of 110 whales were all hump-backs and yielded 700 tons of oil, approximately 90 tons of bone-dust, and approximately 40 tons of whale meat (canned). Whaling commenced very early, the first one taken on 17th May, and the last one on the 15th August. July was the month in which the most whales were taken, but a record number of 13 were caught during the month of May. Seals Following on representations from fishermen in the South that seal colonies were depleting the fish-supplies, a short open season for taking seals in a restricted area was approved. The area opened was from Jackson's Bay on the west coast to Windsor Point in the south, portion of Stewart Island, certain islands in the vicinity, and a small part of the Otago coast in the vicinity of the Nuggets. The season was open from 29th May to 30th September. Each person engaged had to hold a licence. The number of licences issued was 41, and the skins taken totalled 6,187. Rock Oysters Picking started on the 15th May, the last oysters of the season being picked on 30th July. The yield of oysters in sacks from each of the various areas was as follows : Bay of Islands, 2,396 ; Whangarei Harbour, 212 ; Kaipara Harbour, 669 ; Coromandel, 500; Hauraki Gulf, 1,326. The quantities from Hauraki Gulf were obtained from the following areas: Waiheke, 786 ; Ponui, 358 ; Rotoroa, 121 ; Pakatoa, 15 ; Rangitoto, 46.

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