Oysters Will Be Better This Season

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 352, 12 May 1928, Page 1

Oysters Will Be Better This Season

Picking Will Begin Toward End of June AUCKLAND’S HUGE DEMAND The oyster season in Auckland will probably open toward the end of June. Mr. F. P. Flynn, senior inspector of fisheries here, is at present making an inspection of the beds from which the supply is drawn. Yesterday he went to Coromandel. On Monday he will go further afield to make a full investigation. Last year approximately 9,000,000 oysters were gathered from the beds and sold in and around Auckland. During the season 7,200 sacks were picked and each sack contained between 1,200 and 1,300 oysters. “The oysters will be much better than those which were gathered last year,” said Mr. Fl>4nn this morning. “They have improved immensely during the last six weeks. This is probably due to better weather conditions.” Official notification of the opening of the season will come from Wellington, after Mr. Flynn has made his recommendation. This year one new' oyster bed will be in operation, that at Whangarei. The supply will also be gathered from the Bay of Islands, the Great Barrier, Coromandel and other places in the Gulf and in the Kaipara Harbour. Last year it was impossible to supply the demand by both dealers and the public for oysters, but this year it is expected that the Government officials will be able to gather larger quantities from the beds. The oysters will be sold at the Government Depot in the same way as last year, and already officials are preparing for the first of the season rush, which is expected to be heavy. Oyster-picking provides w r ork for quite a large number of men. Last year there were about 53 pickers employed and 20 boats.