WHITEBAIT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 178, 27 January 1914, Page 7

WHITEBAIT.

A WlttT COAST JXDUSTIiY. GIiOWIXU VKIvV UAi'lt-^V. ViMtiirs to thi' Wept (Wt often won der wliy .on the banks of the riven;, down towards tin' sea, there art' small groins, made of sacks lilU'd with gravel At short intervals those groins jut tu into the liver and there are many o. them. The first explanation that occurs to the visitor is that the groin* have something to do with protecting' the river banks, hut that, they do not •look sufficiently stromr to withstand a river in Hoed, and, if groins are to lie of any iw, surely it is in flood tim'. The idea is really based on the recollection of big stone groins at Otini, and also at the Bealey end of the Arthur'* Pass tunnel. lint there they lookstrong enough to do all that is require;' of them; that is, io keep the niouillaii. torrents from the railway embankment .Should the visitor app'al to a West Coast resident for inl'oi iiuitttui regarding the small lie-sacked groins, i.e. wil probably get a laconic reply, •Whitebait..' ■That is the sole reason for the emtio: of river groins---wl'Uobait.

On the West Coast the whitebait is a ' source of wealth, and should the season lie a good one, many people make much money. If a man should happen to strike a good run, it is no unusual tiling for him-to make up to fii in a day, and good runs are neither lew nor far be tween. The rivers present quite an am mated scene during the whitebait 1 . and the prospect of quiuk reterns lures many men away from more regular ..; less higliiv rcmmi"rati\i l work. Once ("iught the whitebait is sent 3:1 to a factory, and there canned, iiii'i during the season, it U a sight to .-co the little fish arrive. The recognise:; measure appears to lie the famil'ia: kerosene till, and it said, the payment: for catches are made on that basis. li. Hokitika there are two whitebait canning factories, and there arc two o: thru' more at (Ireymoutli. During the season one factory opens a branch at l'arenga. The output is large, for there is an excellent market in Australia. Among New Zealand's minor industries that of canning whitebait must be given a place. It differs in some respects from several other industries which could be named: il pays handsomely.