OYSTER-PICKERS' GRIEVANCE.
DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER FOR MARINE. By Telegraph—Press Association. AUCKLAND, May 5. A deputation of oyster-pickers Waited on the Minister for Marine, on Saturday. They stated that practically no oysters worth picking were on Rangitoto, and very few were on Motutapu. On the other hand, Waiheke and Ponui Islands were thick with them, yet these latter islands had been closed for seven years. Unless something were done the oysters now ready to pick would die, and in dying would retard the growth of the younger ones. It was suggested that the Auckland fisheries be divided into four large • sections, one of such sections to be thrown open annually. It was stated that unless Waiheke were opened, the price of oysters would be probably over 15s per bag, but if it were opened the oysters could be sold at 9s per bag. The Minister, in reply, stated that whilst he was anxious to further the oystermen's object in every possible way, it was also his duty to the colony to see that the beds were not ruthlessly depleted. It did not matter to him whether people in New South Wales were supplied or not. What he had to do was to see that the people of New Zealand were supplied. He was informed by Mr Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, that whilst the beds at Cabbage Bay and Rangitoto had been stripped off soft rock, oysters on hard rock were left unpicked. Mr Ayson did not favour opening Waiheke or Ponui at the same time as the other beds, as they would be stripped clean in one season. If Ponui and Waiheke were opened the oysters would be cheap for e:.o year and dear for the following year. He would consider the proposal to divide the district into sections, and would have a look at the beds during the coming week. AUCKLAND, May 6. As a result of the interview with the Minister for Marine, the oysterpickers are now taking out licenses, the Customs authorities exercising special care to ensure that the boats licensed are well equipped and seaworthy.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAG19070507.2.15
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8436, 7 May 1907, Page 5
Word count
Tapeke kupu
350OYSTER-PICKERS' GRIEVANCE. Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8436, 7 May 1907, Page 5
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Wairarapa Age. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in