H.-15

23

" whitebait," taken on the 7th February, 12th February, 11th March, and 15th April respectively, were accordingly obtained from Northcote. On examination they proved to be not Galaxiidse at all, but young fish belonging to the sub-order Clupeoidei to which the European herring, pilchard, and anchovy belong. The first sample consisted entirely of young anchovies (Engraulis australis), but the sample obtained in April was found to consist of a mixture of young anchovies and young pilchards (Sardinia neopilcharda), the former predominating in the proportion of approximately 73 per cent. These fishes ranged in size from about li in. to about 2 in. Viewed casually in the mass they certainly have a close resemblance to the whitebait proper, but when the individual fish are examined the difference between the Clupeoid and the Galaxiid form is immediately discernible. It is hoped to make further study of these young fishes of the Waitemata Harbour in order to throw light on the Clupeoids of the fiauraki Gulf which up to the present have not been commercially exploited. Shags and the Fisheries. Investigations in Kaipara Harbour. From time to time complaints as to the depredations of shags have been received from various bodies representing both fresh-water and marine fishery interests. Most of the acclimatization societies have followed the policy of paying premiums for the killing of these birds —a policy which has been restricted by financial considerations only. Our files show that subsequent to the year 1902 periodical raids were made on the shag " rookeries " in the Waitaki River district in order to keep down the numbers of these birds for the benefit of the young salmon. There is also on record a statement from the then Under-Secretary for the Department of Internal Affairs to the effect that " when, in 1907, as the result of the investigations of the Agriculture Department, it was found that the shag was the host of the parasite found in trout in the Thermal Regions, it was decided to grant a subsidy of Is. —subsequently (in 1911) increased to 2s. 6d. —per head lor all shags caught in the Rotorua Acclimatization District." In 1922, "in view of the great improvement in the condition of the trout there and the further necessity of cutting down expenditure, it was decided that the payment of subsidies should cease and in lieu thereof that during the nesting season a Departmental officer should visit the principal shaggeries and kill off as many of the young as possible at an estimated cost of £25." The subsidy was again brought in during 1924 and increased to 2s. 6d. per head in 1926. The great majority of the complaints from fishermen have been with respect to the depredations of the black shag (Phalacrocorax carbo) on trout-streams. But as far back as 1922 representations were made by the Kaipa.ra fishermen with a view to obtaining a Government grant —£100 was the sum named —for the purpose of destroying shags which were regarded as a serious menace to the flounder and mullet fisheries. The species here in question is the large pied shag (Hy-poleucus varius) which fishermen call the big black-and-white shag. The Marine Department's view, based on the opinion of the then Chief Inspector of Fisheries, was that the expenditure of £100 would not be of any practical use. In his view, the only way to reduce their numbers was by simultaneous killing along both east and west coasts. He considered that this would require to be continued over a period of several years to be of any practical use, a course which was too expensive to be undertaken. The above is an indication of the point of view held by various bodies responsible for the welfare of the fisheries. Summed up, it amounts to this : that the black shag and the large pied shag are objects against which war should be waged for the benefit of the fisheries provided that it does not cost too much. There are, however, other and contrary views on the subject. The latest and perhaps the most weighty statement of the case for the saving of the shag was that of the Committee appointed by the Auckland Philosophical Institute for the ecological survey of Waitemata Harbour when, in 1926, moved by the propaganda of the Auckland Acclimatization Society directed towards inducing the Government to take steps for assisting in the destruction of sea-shags, they sent a memorandum to the Standing Committee of the New Zealand Institute with a request that their views might be passed on to the Government Departments concerned. Their contention, apparently accepted by the Standing Committee, was that the bulk of evidence was in favour of shags of every species. lam afraid I cannot agree with that conclusion. In the first place, the evidence does not bulk very large. Most of the published references to the subject have been written by amateur ornithologists, bird-lovers, who show themselves just as apt to throw a strong light on the more innocuous habits of the shags as the fishing fraternity do on their fish-eating habits. It would appear that every observation in favour of the birds has been published while the experience of fishermen has never been systematically recorded, but only used as a basis for general statements. The Auckland Ecological Survey Committee memorandum states the case for the shag in general terms, quoting references to evidence which had been gathered. Its chief usefulness lies in the attention which it draws to the fact that there are several species of shag which vary in habitat and in their feeding habits and which must not be regarded equally as enemies to fish-life. Special reference was made to the article* by Myers and Atkinson in the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture for May, 1924, in which all the published evidence on the subject was considered. Buller, Guthrie-Smith, R. A. Falla, Edgar Stead, and J. R. Annabel! are the bird authorities whose observations are quoted.

* " The Relation of Birds to Agriculture in New Zealand."