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6

Commissioner was instructed to make such inquiries, and he was told that if he was satisfied that it was feasible he was authorised to expend a small sum in sending out a trial shipment of any one or two of the kinds of fish referred to. The result of his inquiries is set forth in his memorandum of the 7th ultimo, which is appended hereto along with other correspondence relating to the hatchery and to the question of introducing suitable food-fishes. Oysters.— The beds between Gull Point and Bream Tail, in the Auckland fishery, which were opened last season, furnished sufficient oysters to meet the demand. In fact, four of the boats which began to take oysters at the beginning of the season ceased operations before the end of the first month owing to the supply exceeding the demand. Mr. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, went to Auckland last month to examine the beds in the Hauraki Gulf in connection with the question of deciding as to the beds that should be opened this year, and as a result of his examination those between Mullet Point, north of Mahurangi, and Wanga Point, on the Whangaparoa Peninsula, and those between Cape Colville and Hautapu Point, on the Coromandel Peninsula, have been opened. It appears from his report that there is a good supply of oysters on Rangitoto Island, and therefore it would be advisable to open these beds later on in the season if it is found necessary to close those between Mullet Point and Wanga Point and between Cape Colville and Hautapu Point before the end of the season. Mr. Ayson also visited Great Barrier Island, and found that the beds, especially those at Port Fitzroy, are recovering from the overpicking which took place when they were last open. He did not, however, think that they should be opened this year, on account of the difficulty in supervising the picking, and recommended that they should be leased to the settlers before next season. This can be done under the provisions of " The Sea-fisheries Act Amendment Act, 1903," or the oysters could be picked and sold by the Department. The adoption of either one or the other of these systems would prevent the depletion of the beds. The best plan would, in my opinion, be for the Department to pick the oysters itself, as this would tend to conserve the beds and at the same time would yield a profit. The closing of most of the beds in the Hauraki Gulf during the last few years has enabled them to recover, and if care is taken to prevent overpicking in future there should be a constant supply. Inspector Bennett states that the beds on Waiheke, Ponui, Rangitoto, and Pakiho Islands, and on parts of Motutapu, are in better condition than they have been during the last twenty-five years. There should be considerable further improvement in the near future, as Mr. Ayson states that he observed an unusually large number of young oysters from this season's spawning, showing that there has been an exceptional fall of spat; and the same state of things was observed in the Bay of Islands. None of the beds in the Northern fishery, which extends from the North Cape to Whangaruru, have been opened this season. After completing the examination of the Hauraki Gulf beds, Mr. Ayson proceeded to the Bay of Islands and inspected the beds there, and both he and Mr. Stephenson, the local Inspector, recommended that they should be kept closed. The oysters in the Kerikeri section of the fishery are in good condition, but Mr. Ayson considers it would be inadvisable to open these beds, as it is certain that a very large number of gum-diggers a.nd other inexperienced pickers would take out licenses, aud that it would be practically impossible to prevent them ruining the beds. This is another instance in which picking by the Department would be the means of insuring a larger supply of oysters for the public and at the same time of conserving the beds. An inspection which has been made of the beds in the Hokianga Harbour shows that the rockovsters are becoming depleted, although there is still a fair supply of mangrove oysters. It has therefore been decided to close them, and also the beds in Herekino and Whangape Harbours and Ahipara Bay, as they, too, are getting depleted. The annual license fee to take oysters in the North Island has been increased from £1 to £1 10s. Several prosecutions for breaches of the law in respect to oysters have been taken in the Auckland District, and fines have been imposed. The survey of the oyster-beds in Foveaux Strait has been carried out by Mr. Hunter, Customs Officer at the Bluff, and a copy of his report is appended hereto. This report shows that oysters are plentiful in the Strait. The quantity of Foveaux Strait oysters exported to Australia during the year ended the 31st December last was 303,771 dozen, valued at £2,530. I have, &c, George Allport. The Hon. the Minister of Marine, Wellington.

The Principal Examiner of Masters and Mates, to the Secretary, Marine Department. Office of the Principal Examiner of Masters and Mates, Customhouse, Wellington, 4th May, 1906. I have the honour to submit my annual report on the examination of masters and mates in New Zeaand. The work has been carried out by the Examiners at the four principal ports in a satisfactory manner. The total number of examinations held in the colony during the past year is almost exactly the same as in the previous year, the very slight increase being due to the new grade of examination for master of fishing-boat or cargo-vessel, which came into force during the current year. During the last two or three years Auckland has had a considerable increase in the number of examinations, while the number of candidates for examination in Wellington has latterly been decreasing, and this year there have been little more than half the number in Wellington that Auckland has had. As usual, there have been comparatively few examinations held in either Lyttelton or Dunedin.