QUINNAT SALMON.

Otaki Mail, 14 March 1923, Page 4

QUINNAT SALMON.

, MARKETING- PROPOSAL, i I LMPOETA>-T EXJ?EKIME;XTAL SCHEME, Quinnat salnion now exist in ven large numbers oil' the coast of Otago and Canterbury, and it is the intcu lion of the Marine Department to make an effort to have them caught and marketed during the year, commencing from now to the end of April, and, after the end of the close season, commencing again fishing for market after the Ist October next. "This season the fishing and market iug will be more or less experimental,'' stated the Minister tor Marine (Hon. J. G. Anderson) to a representative ol Tlie I'ost. "A good deal of prospecting for the schools of salmon at set wili ; have to be done, and the Departmem intends hiring a suitable vessel, cither at Tiiiiaiu or Oainaru, and- lining hei up with trolling gear similar to that used in fishing Cor salmon off the I'a eilic Coast and British Columbia. "The Government Jias also decided | to encourage sea fishermen to fish foj ' salmon, and they will" be allowed to j catch and market then) dining the pre- I sent open season, from October 1 to I April 3U. That is, fishermen may catch and market salmon without a salmon license, commencing as soon as the regulations are gazetted this month, on to the 30th April. From May J to September is a close season, and before the next open.- the Department will be able, based on the results obtained from this season's experiments, to establish a system for taking and marketing salmon, which will be satisfactory to all parties concerned. Jt has been decided to allow anglers who hold a trout license to take salmon, and if not required for their own use- to sell them during the present open season, and it is also the intention to do some experimental netting inside the mouths of i some of the salnion rivers. This work will be carried out under the supervision, of one oi the Department's of-'; ficers. and, if desired, a representative ■ of any one of the acclimatisation so- • cieties can also be present. At any! rate, the acclimatisation societies ami J I anglers can rest assured that the work J will be done in such a way as not to ' interfere with or injure trout and the interests of trout fishing. As already stated, for the first year the work both 01 catching and marketing will be purely experimental. If it is found that salmon can be caught in quantities, the Department will be in a position to have the catching and marketing put on a proper working looting the following season. "All lish caught by the Department [ will be sold by public auction at the jport at which they are landed from the 1 catching vessel." j -