The Decrease of Mullet.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 84, 10 January 1885, Page 6

The Decrease of Mullet.

For many yeai-s ineffectual efforts wero made to pass through Parliament a Fisheries Conservation Bill that would protect the valuable coastal fisheries from the ruthless depredations of reckless fishermen. Session after session the bill wa3 defeated,o\ving to the opposition of a few fishermen, exercised through members of the House. These men were too short-sighted to see that the wholesale destruction of young fish and ova in tiio breeding season was striking at the source of their own livelihood, and making their calling a more arduous one. The mullefc was the fish which, in the North, suffered most from the want of proper regulations protecting its young. Caught exclusively with the net when making its way up tidal rivers, it was especially exposed to the destructive agencies at work. The inevitable results of allowing the employment of nets having a mesh of less than four inches were reiterated in vain, and shoals of young iish were destroyed every year. The con- j sequences of this foolish waste are now | being experienced by our fishermen, as will < be seen from the following letter :—: — " Decrease op Mullet. —Sir,— The subject of this letter being in the interests of the public, and especially those who earn their subsistence by following the vocation of fishermen, we trust you will insert the following remarks in your valuable medium : — We, the undcivigned, on behalf of our fellow fi-henncn, have come to the conclusion (wo cannot blind ourselves to the fact) that unlcts a law is passed to make it imperative for all concerned to use a fourinch vnefjh net when fishing for mullet, the said fish will bo eradicated from the -water-* in piuxinutv tn Auckland, thereby depriving a number of hard-working men of rheir inoui- of gaining a livelihood, and also the public of one of the most palatable dishes oi the tinny tribe. The proof of what wo a^scit i-> verified in the fact that up to two yo.ii » 'igo a good haul of mullet could always be depended upon outride the Wairoa waters, whereas .since that time it is a very unusual circumstance for any of onr fraternity to be lucky enough to^et a catch. The authorities of New South Wuloa, &c , parsed a law regulating the size of thomesh net, which is "largo enough to allow all t under-sized fish to escape. All fishermen who transgress the said law arc subjected to a substantial lino. Beneficial effects have been experienced by fishermen f-ince the law came into force, as the small fish have the opportunity ot arriving at maturity before ! their captux-e, the consequence of which is | a plentiful supply of fish at all times. As this is a matter of importance to the public (jeneially, we trust that the few remarks we have expressed, combined, wo hope, by your kind and powerful efforts on our behalf, will be the means of bringing the matter to a successful issue —We arc, Sec, !.]. Loojiey and T. Coi j k, on behalf of our fellow-fishermen of Auckland." '>)"' Last session an Aci was got through the Legislature which delegates the whole duty of regulating the fisheries to the Governor-in-Council. His Excellency is empowered to make regulations prescribing the minimum f-i/.e or weight of any fish that may )>o taken or Hold, and limiting the size, when wot, of the mesh of any not used in fishing, and providing in a variety of other ways for the conservation of fish. It now devolves upon the Government to exercise the powei'3 vested in them by proclaiming regulations for the reasonable protection of our fisheries without unnecessarily hampering tho fishing industry.

"I should have no objection, "' paid -a henpecked hiihband, " to my wife's having the last word if I could only be assured that it would bo the last."