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. 1947 .. .. .. .. .. 97 1946 .. .. .. .. .. 1,191 1945 .. .. .. .. .. 1,458 1944 .. .. .. .. .. 4,281 1943-44 .. .. .. .. 5,339 Fish-liver Oil This branch of the industry again showed a steady increase. The fish liverstreated, 698,383 lb., an increase of 27,719 lb., and fish-liver oil produced, 30,427 gallons, an increase of 504 gallons. A total of 27,025 gallons of fish-liver oils was exported, an increase of 7,804 gallons over last year. Whaling Four vessels with a total complement of ten men were engaged in the whalefishing based on Marlborough Sounds and fourteen men were employed ashore at the whale-factory. A total catch of 111 whales was taken, 101 of which were humpbacks, 9 sperms, and 1 blue whale. They yielded 640 tons of oil, 100 tons of bonedust, and 45 tons of whale-meat (canned). Whaling commenced very early, the first whale being taken on 11th May, and the last one on the 6th August. July again was the month in which most whales were taken. A feature of the season was that all whales were below the usual size and in poor condition, with the exception of the blue whale. Seals There was no open season for the taking of seals this year. Two scientific expeditions made to the seal colonies covered most of the known haunts of seals. Primarily the purpose of these visits was to gain information on the composition and population of the seal colonies and to study the breeding habits and factors limiting the population level. This work is to be continued as opportunity occurs. Rock-oysters A total of 5,280 sacks was picked. Picking started on the 28th May and finished on 13th August. The yield of oysters in sacks from each of the various areas was as follows : Bay of Islands, 2,385 ; Whangarei Harbour, 210 ; Coromandel, 370 ; Great Barrier Island, 328 ; Hauraki Gulf, 1,987.

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