Important Conference on Wild Life

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 44, 12 November 1952, Page 6

Important Conference on Wild Life

IMPORTANT CONFERENCE ON WILD LIFE

TAUFO'S FISHING RESOURCES AND K nii U L AT I O N S The Annual Conference of Fishing and Shooting Organisations in the Taupo District was heid in Rickit's Hau, Taupo, on Thursday November 6th, when the followmg Departmental Officers were present: Mr G. F. Yerex, Controlier of Wild Life; Mr S. A. McNamara, Conservator of Wild Life ; .and Mr Hobbs, Senior Fisheries Officer. Angling bodies were represented as follows: Waitahanui Angling Improvement Assoeiation, Messrs O. S. Hintz (president), Arthur Jacobs, F. W. Logan, A. MacNicoh Lake Taupo District Anglers' Federation, Messrs P. S. White, ti. Digby Smith. Tongariro Anglers Club, Messrs W. A. Spragg, J. Sanderson, E. Gurney, G. H. Nicholas. Taupo Rod and Gun Club, Messrs L. Cheal, K. E. Young, A. Pye, L. Stephenson, G. Hardy. Taupo Launchmen's Assoeiation, Mrs 1. E. Taylor, R. H. Ward.

Also present as observers were Mr K. Westerskov, M.Sc., who is engaged on a research project into the pheasant in Kew Zealand; Mr P. Burstall, field officer engaged in the Taupo Fisheries research proiect, Mr E. McGregor, Field Officer, Mr Alan Hall, ranger, and other Departmental officers. After welcoming delegates, Mr McNamaira suggested that, whereas at the two prior conferences the chair had been taken by himself, it would be fitting if the Conference elected a chairman, for the conference was not a Departmental affair but a gathering of representatives of bodies keenly interested in fishing, shooting and wild life generally. On the motion of Mr Cheal, seconded by Mr A. MacNicoi, Mr O. S. Hintz was elected chairman unopposed. Following discussion of a wide irange of remits Mr D. F. Hobbs, Senior Fisheries Officer, addressed the conference on the research project being carried on in the Taupo Fisheries District. prefacihg his remarks by emphasismg that while many interesting facts had already been established it would be prematuire to attempt to produce final conclusions until the conclusion of the current year's research. Mr Hobbs also referred to the excellent field work being done by Mr P. Burstall and to the co-operation given Mr Burstall by many anglers, and in m^ntioning that last season over four hundred diaries of fishing results had been handed in by anglers he appealed for even more cornplete records to be sent in this season, and urged that anglers doing this should do their utmost to keep their records full and complete right up to the end of the season. ANGLING PROBLEMS REVIEWED Research Work In Taupo Towards the end of the 1949-50' season, angling organizations in this District made certain recommendations to the Hon W. A. Bodkin, Minister of Internal Affairs, on matters which seemed to them to be vital to the welfare of the Taupo fishery. As some of the matters incolved essentially biological issues, I was instructed to enquire into them and report. In November, 1950 I presented a report to the Minister in which I gave a resume of the history of the fishery and its stocks, made observations on the general biology of the trout, and indicated certain tentative conclusions arising from imperfect data. It was apparent at that time that the factual needed tc solve certain major problems witl certainty was not in existence anc that further investigations on an extended scale would be necessary before solutions could be^arrived at. Because of possibilities bf merely seasonal fluctuations it seemed then desirable that certain observations fhould extend over two or three years, and that' meanwhile regulations should not be changed if worfchwhile results were to be obtained. Condition of Fish. In essence, the problem which was giving rise to greatest concern was one of condition of fish — not numbers or sizes of fish. On this matter, there was considerable confl'et to angling opinion: Some wanting the season to open later; some wanting certain areas closed to fishing

or certain techniques prohibited; and o.thers prefering retention of the status auo. The conflict of views resulted in part from want of Certain knowledge as to why fish were in poor condition. There was no certainty as to whether they were Simply recent spawners which would buickly mend, or old fish which had suffered a permanent deterioration of condition. In November 1950 I examined carefully all' the factual evidence which had been accumulated over the years. It was considerable in bulk, but very incomplete and lacking in balance. While since the 1930's considerable numbers of fish have been weighed and- measured during a number of angling seasons, the collections were extremely ill balanced and did not give anywhere near a reasonably adequate seasonal or regional coveragel In a fishery of such complexity dt -ould have been quite unwarranted to rely on this material to reach any final conclusions. A serious omission was of reasonably representative data as to size and condition of fish outside the angling season. In the absence of it, it was impossjble to say whether or not fish which were out of condition during the season recovered subsequently and served any useful purpose as spawners, or reached a condition which wouid make them acceptable to anglers if the season were extended. It seems unsafe to generalise on the winter condition of fish in the very few waters trapped for hatchery purposes. I tbink I should add here in ifairness to the Controller and the Conservator that there. had earlier been full appreciation of the inadequacies of the factual information and of our facilities for oktaining it. Indeed, considerably earlier, arrangements had1 been made for a junior from this district to be seconded to the Fisheries Laboratory to undergo a * fairly comprehensive echnical apprenticeship so that he could later return here and under lireetion organize the collection of ;he data the Laboratory required. In earlier years a good deal of useful vork had been clone and in an enieavour to estimate the total yield ! >f the lake a diary scheme had been mstituted and increasing quantities I >f fish were being weighed and measured. The preliminary analysis >f thi^ data had been made in the | rotorua Gffice. It had been found, ' lowever, that the diary returns were | nadequat'e to give a reliablq pic;ure. While I have said that the data ivailable in November 1950 was nadequate to provide final answers, •he Minister's instructions at that ime were extremely valuable beause they compelled a general 1 toek-taking;. The whdle of the | istorical data going right back to j the beginning of the fishery was i worked up in a forrn suitable for | easy incorporation in the ultimate | report . Defficiencies in data for more recent years were noted and plans made to bridge the gaps. Further, a preliminary assessment o'f data relating to condition of fish showed that at all earlier periods there had been a proportion of poor fish present during the angling season. This had been so even in the remarkable seasons in the early 192 0's. Analysis showed that poorness of condition could be correlated substantially with size of fish. That ' is to say, the proportion of out-of-

! | condition fish increased sharply as larger size groups were examined— a fa-ct which, in itself, suggested that the trouble was pr-obably limited to spawners. The examination also raised the possibility that far too mucfi food might be diverted from production of new flesh on young fish to; production of excessive quantities of eggs and the merely maintenance requirements of the producers of those eggs. These I say were possibilities which called for further investigations. 'Improved Angling Co-operation. During the 1950-51 season, Mr Burstall finished nis training and was stationed here. Immediately, improved angling co-operation was developed, greatly increased numbers of diaries came forward and a worth-while start was made in obtaining a reasonably balanced sample of fish measurements from all parts of the area througiiout the angling season. It is a tribute to his efforts that by the end of 195152 season the diary work essential for an estimation of total yield was giving tremendously improved results. From 80 to 90 diaries in earlier years, the seasonal total shot up to 469 last season. In winter 1951 a good' start was made in bridging the earlier gap in knowledge as to winter eonditions of fish. The Conservator made available additional men to carry out a winter trapping programme with the result that data were obtained through much of the spawning season as to eonditions of fish in tributaries on both sides of the lake. Over 6,000 fish were handled and marked before release. The marking was done incidentally to the other work so that the fish could be recognised on subsequent recapture, and the condition of fish known conclusively to have spawned could be studied. Additionally, scale material was obtained to provide a further check. There are technical difficulties in the way of doing routine scale examination work on the Taupo stock; nevertheless, scale reading is a supplementary tool which, with care, can be used to aid our understanding. In the winter of 1952 the trapping programme was repeated and this time was. modified to include an ; importanf branch of the Waitahanui and further by the adoption of different fin-clipping systems so that the 1952 fish could be distinguished from those marked the previous year, and so that fish marked iii different tributaries could be identified. It is particularly hoped that there will be the maximum co-operation from aiiglers and all concerned in recording their angling results in diary form during this season and aitber in submitting marked fish for sxamination or in providing very ac2urate weights and measurements of them. In consequence of the great impetus given to this work since the Minister's instructions were receiv3d a little over two years ago, a very great amount of data has come to hand. It includes individual weights and measurements of very many thousands of fish as -well as a great amount of diary data. Only those associated closely with the work can have any appreciation of the time and labour necessary to handle this information. It is not possible at the beginning to lump the iot together and draw worthwhilc* conclusions from average fig'.ires. For purposes of preliminary ta bula tion we divide the Lake and tributaries into fifteen sub-areas, A.s regards each of these, males md females are listed separately in sticcessive inch groups, This means that the data taken during the angling season is, in the first place, split into no less than 300 divisions for each of the successive nonths of the season. This enables -omparison to be made between dif.erent areas for both sexes and seasonal changes to be established. rrrouping for various further analysis lollows later. In the same way, with the fish trapped in winter — and this last season there were upwards of 4,000 of them — the same divis-ions according to sex, length and month of capture are made. In the case of all fish — both angling season captures and those (Continued on Page 7)

(Continued from Page 6.) frapped in winter — the condition factor is established individually. The greater part of this preliminary tabulation is done in the district - — not a little of it by >Mr Burstall who has combined this work with the field side of his duties, and the rest of it by Mr Dickinson in the Rotorua office. A great deal more remains to be done when the preliminary tabulations and analysis come fhrough to the Fis'heries Laboratory. It is proper that the meeting should appreciate that the whole undertaking with its field, clerical and laboratory sides, involves a far greater staff effort than is apparent to any casual observer, and involves, further, the use of eonsiderable staff.

Satisfactory Progress. In general, I am well satisfied with the progress to date. Here and there, there have been hitches and upsets basically, I think, reflecting inadequate liaison on occasions between the various officers concerned, including myself. These have not, however, affected the general tenor of the investigations and they will not impair the validity of the final results. Possibly the chief planning error was in under estimating the volume of clerical work involved and being a little slow in making sufficient provision for staff. However, that is now in hand and arrears are being overtaken. I could, if compelled to today, ] make some prediction as to the fin- | al outcome of this work. I consider, however, that it would be improper to do so without adequate opportunity of studying the results ofetained during this last winter's trapping. I would prefer today to go no further than to say just this: The indications are that the tentative interpretations made in my reporit of November 1950 will be fu-lly substantiated and that the gaps in the somewhat imperfect picture we then had will be adequately filled. I am reasonably satisfied that if the results of this last winter's work and those arising from observations during the current angling season agree, with what has already been examined, the problem or causes of condition of fish at Taupo will be substan'tially lesolved. Further any remedial measures to be adopted will not be m the way of increased restrictions. It ou may have hoped today to hear something more final from me. You will lecall, however, that by mutual consemt we elected to have ,a three years holiday from ehopping and changing of regulations — a three years in wbich an all-out attempt should be made at a worthwhile assessment of the situation. I feel I am keeping to my part of the bargain, for I confidently expect that final answers will be available well in advance of next angling season. This present intensive effort must be regarded to a considerable extent as a capital investment giving rise to knowlege of permanent use in the management of this fishery. By that I do not mean that there will not be need for less elaborate routine checks in future years, or that new lines of research or attempts at improving the fishery will be unnecessary. What I do say is this: that the knowledge being gained is essential and absolutely basic to any future policy — it is a foundation on which we may hope to build soundly without it, we T'rould be huilding unsoundly. Taupo A Complex Problem. The facts are that Taupo is an extremely complex fishery. Its great size, the variety and relative inaccessibility of its tributary systems, and particularly the extraorinary prolonged spawning season add immensely to investigational difficulties. Further, the main problem is one of a kind unusual in freshwater fisheries science. It is not one to which you can find appropriate methods and easy solutions in the text books or in overseas research reports, to be applied, as it were, copy-book fashion, here. From the investigational angle,

this job calls for team work and hard and unspectacular and often most tedious work. Laymen mignt well be much more greatly impressed with a fine parade of scientific apparatus and impressive public demonstrations. Frankly, we are getting on rapidly with the job as it should be done, and concentrating on essentials. I am sure you would not have the waste staff time or mis?ead you by modifying our plans just to make the job look more in- | volved and more scientific.