FISH AND FISHERMEN

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1974, 3 February 1914, Page 7

FISH AND FISHERMEN

■i'j tOH> MW NEW METHODS. Thd four lteliii» iislicrraijn wlio Veaiu-r----ed.twolvo nViles 'ou.ifc into Cop.k Strait- oil Wednesday _ last 111 tbir 38ft. motor lau-neli Italia ,u*rci i»:jiiply toivarded for their troublo by ju&ttihg.sbino four h.uiir dred , hapukn, l-ftilgiilg iii weight .ftoni .15 to 40 jrauiids cieh, ylsilst, a smaller launch" .netted about huwked toilcc, in ,I'alliser Bay, tljis ■bciiiig but iv ii.6i>-cen-tago .of tho fiiio flsli being. : p/re.pare(i ■for Friday's pi-arltot. iii t'ho coel chiimbers of the- B&wko's Bay. F.islicries'Gtmi■pany, Geurteji.ay l?laci?j that iflorin.n.g, when Mr. Russo, erstwhilp of Bojirt $uy. but now fa.r:nfrii.g; in, Waikatc, drepped in oil a friendly visit to iss younger H-alhcn conipatHatp., and tho corir.oisa-t-ion naturelly drifted- in thb direotton ai fisli..

"Twenty-five- years .ijEO," said Jlr. R-iissd, referring"- to -eld-tinns fishing tnothods., "our for the season was a small opeii boat, -twentyite& shillings• worth <it hooks and , .line., two good urates eatih, and tlrreie piiir of strong arms to iiuli -out whenever the different- sojts of fieli .wo. rtaiifced wero reported to' n.ljg.undu'. AYo, ciiugliti plenty,, On tlio lino those days, toot and tho inarkofc was. pften so pobi*, for us .that hteudreds of fijie fish , we're littered by iip along tho bqapli,- time ivnd again, as ey'i* deuce of o.yr jfajluro to get anything, at all ofva really good .haul. "I particularly rcnjeiiibe.r , 0119 keen demand for fish during a tad Spell Si' wda-t-l'ior.j vyhe.ii> for tho first time, the- t-lio.n despised butter fish, (.hitherto' branded by us 'blacJf; fish/ on acSouni; of it being black listed . By' tho fflefcliant-B) was bought from its in tlio a'tesiice'oif their welixbuloved ,whaf.Gji.oli. Even liapuka wag not of mar-kef yalue those days I When wo found ti.ieift tjoablesoiue, we speared tl-nem, and- east ihejfi frdni us in our search'- for tho .profitable- (?) w-h-ijrehoul ■ • . ,

"Now," said Mr. RubSoj "black, fisli liavo beco.nio ..butter -fish. . There's Jess risk," lie- added, "more expensive, and H.ttlo iiioro- profit in tioso da*s of motor JauHclies ai-id: costly hots .than, id roy day, when w'e. feed two lines to «w bcidy and hauled: rn first oiio li.ii.e and then tho tttTifif., till xAtt boat was full; and,- st-rango to relate, onco wo b'Cßan to not our fish they seemed •oWi? aft<>r-H-gi'ds to sh'Uii tiio hook, and tlHis it is to--da,y tho line is. $n poorly pattered on-d tho net Si&'Weil filled, 1 ' ' At this stigo the ivjiter , osp:i?.d amid tlio Jnindireds of cleaneo .ftjid beheaded hapaka ono with his on» and qucßtionod Mf. Busso as to.the reason.

"fliat ftsh," said Mi , llu'sep, ' 'iei sorno-tt-hftt rttnj, and is called 'bpSita.' It Ims tlio liead of a wliiiroliou and ijio hotly and' tail of a. trtirtipoter-* a queer fish,, but very gobd eating!" . ' "There's 311 st. another Sttitspto of good food.fioiilß'tt) vvaste" snid Mr , . Rusfio. "In oiir day.j wo sold <iui' fish head mid all t Nowadays tlio fishcrttion -clean, aiid behead ttieli fieli at tiro seasMo laHdinp. Thcro's two pound weight of gcxsd fi.51.1 in that l)ftilita.'s.]lcjid, and, in iiiy Opinion \\-ortli four ?£ ftn/'<itl\or .part of tho '"fishi ,Til3t iho gaiuo. Vith the liajjiika.." ____ Ji^_i _ i^^_