ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 April 1921, Page 8

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

THE ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Taranaki Acclimatisation Society was held last, night. Mr. G. Grover (president) presided. ANNUAL REPORT AND BALANCE SHEET. The annual report was read as follows: In presenting the 58th annual report, the executive are pleased to be able to congratulate the society upon its improved position. It will be remembered that owing to the war the old hatcheries were closed down. Acting upon instructions 'received from the, last annual meeting, the question of re-establishing this branch of acclimatisation work has been gone into, with the result that the Society has now a well-equipped hatchery in Pukekura Park, capable of handling up to half a million ova. This was made possible by the kindness of tlie Park Board, together with voluntary subscriptions and labor on the part of sportsmen. The past fishing season throughout the district has been the best known for years. Scarcely a ri”e. exists which has not been tried and found to contain plenty of fish, and excellent bags have been obtained. The Waiwakaiho river has fished better this year than ever before, and one very pleasing fact is that natural increase seems to be clearly established Ln that and the other rivers. This, combined with the output from the new hatchery, should very shortly place the North Taranaki streams in a position second to no others in the Douninion. During the past year Mr. L. F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, was good enough to pay us a visit, during which he inspected and approved of the si.te in the Park for the new hatchery. He also delivered an address upon the subject of fish culture to an appreciative audience, and those who missed hearing him missed an intellectual treat. Thirty thousand rainbow trout fry were received in good condition from the Government hatcheries at Rotorua, and were liberated in the Stony River and the Okaiku River. Reports from the upper reaches of these rivers state that they have been noted, and are doing well. No brown trout were liberated, it being thought better to conserve revenue towards the hatchery, taking into consideration the unexpected natural Increase in therivers this year. The past shooting season showed a very fair number of pheasants, but on. all sides they were reported to be extremely wild and hard to approach. Quail were numerous/ In spite of the matter having been repeatedly brought to the notice of sportsmen, the fact remains that a certain number of persons deliberately shoot before the opening day. Frequently the excuse is that they are merely shooting hares, but even so they disturb the pheasants and make them wild. Unfortunately the executive have good reason to suppose that pheasants are also shot indiscriminately. The sanctuary at Tataramaika is gazetted, and no persons can shoot there legally. Notwithstanding this, the executive have evidence that the sanctuarv has been violated and birds shot there. The gazetting of this piece of land as a sanctuary was a matter of considerable difficulty, and was done at the request of both farmers and shooting license holders. It is the best thing done for years for their interests, and it looks as if the Society's efforts to promote sport for them may be nullified by the selfish action of a few. The Society will prosecute any person found in the sanctuary with a gun, and will be glad to receive the co-oper-ation of all sportsmen in the matter. The bank credit balance now stands at £lB7 9s sd, which may be considered satisfactory, but the finances of the Society will continue require very careful administration. It will be most necessary for the Society to receive its full revenue, and license holders who know or suspect persons of fishing or shooting without licenses should bring the matter to the notice of the executive, who will take steps for the necessary enquiries and action. The balance-sheet disclosed that the receipts for the'year amounted to £350 16s (including £147 13s 6d carried forward from the previous year). Expenditure was £l6l 15s lOd, leaving a credit balance of £lBB 16s. There were further outstanding accounts, which would bring down the actual balance to £145

Ils 2d. This latter expenditure had been incurred since March 31 in finishing off •the new hatcheries. In moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet, the president spoke of the gofxl work done by members of the council, particularly Messrs. W. Bell and E. Douche, whose services and sportsmanlike action in the work done at the new hatcheries were particularly generous. Now that the hatcheries were in working order it was proposed to secure eyed ova, and rearing operations would be commenced in the course of a few weeks, and each year a considerable amount of trout fry would be available for each stream. The report and balance sheet were adopted. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The following officers ,vere elected for the ensuing year: President, Mr. G. G. Grover; vice-presidents, Messrs. W. Bell and J. Burton; committee. Messrs. C. M. Hill, E. Douche. W. Bamsey, L. I. Rae, F. U. Duckworth; secretary and treasurer, Mr. Vai. Duff; auditor, Mr. T. Shaw. GENERAL. The secretary was voted an honorarium of £lO 10s for his year’s work. A special vote of thanks was accorded the Pukekura Park Board for their kindness in granting permission for the erection of the fish hatcheries in the grounds of the park. It was decided that shooting licenses from outside districts be endorsed for the forthcoming season. Votes of thanks to the Press and the chairman conclud 'd the meeting.