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No. 4. Messrs. Spaceman and Clarke to the Minister having charge of the Marine Department. Sir,— Christchurch, 27th March, 1893. In accordance with the request contained in your letter dated the 23rd of February, 1893, your Commissioners, appointed to hold an inquiry into and report upon the question of the minimum size at which flounders should be allowed to be taken, beg to report as follows: — Your Commissioners caused advertisements to be inserted in the Lyttelton Times and Press newspapers calling upon persons wishing to give evidence to appear, and fixing the times at which your Commissioners would sit to take such evidence. They also communicated direct by letter with Mr. E. G. Wright, M.H.E., Sir John Hall, M.H.E., Mr. J. Joyce, M.H.E., and others whom they understood desired to attend and give evidence. Your Commissioner Mr. F. E. Clarke arrived at Christchurch from Hokitika on Saturday the 4th of March, and on Monday and Tuesday the 6th and 7th of March your Commissioners held sittings at Christchurch, and took the evidence of Messrs. E. G. Wright, M.H.E.; T. W. Durant (President of the Fishermen's Union); W. F. Warner, hotelkeeper at Christchurch; Sir John Hall, M.H.E.; E. G. Warnes, fishmonger, Christchurch; Professor Hutton; Eev. A. Chodowski, the Jewish Eabbi; and Joseph Germano, fisherman. On Wednesday the Bth March your Commissioners held a sitting at Leeston, previously notified by advertisement. After taking the evidence of Nicholas Bassi, a fisherman, they visited Lake Ellesmere and inspected the nets, boats, and gear in use, both those on the shore and on the lake, having several of the nets drawn or lifted in order to see the ordinary size, quality, and number taken. They also visited the locality where the outlet is made when the lake is opened, and the reputed spawning-ground. On Thursday the 9th March your Commissioners held a further sitting at Leeston, and took the evidence of Mr. David Macmillan, Chairman of the Selwyn County Council, the further evidence of Nicholas Bassi, John Stretz, Alexander Lazarette, Charles Johnston, and John Magaldo, the last five being fishermen engaged on the lake. On Friday the 10th March your Commissioners held a further sitting at Christchurch, when Peter Demetri, the fish salesman or auctioneer for the fishermen at Lake Ellesmere, attended, and produced his books. Your Commissioners also took the evidence of Dr. Frankish, and Edmund Pleasant, a fisherman at Lyttelton, and former President of the Fishermen's Union. In consequence of information obtained from the last witness, your Commissioners deemed it advisable to take the evidence of the fishermen at Lyttelton. They accordingly held a sitting at Lyttelton on Saturday, the 11th March, and took the evidence of Henry Piggott, Eobert Seymour, John Williams, William Fitzsimmon, and Peter Hoglund, all of whom are fishermen at Lyttelton. Copy of all the evidence taken, together with extracts from the books of Mr. Peter Demetri, auctioneer, showing the number of cases received from Lake Ellesmere and the prices obtained, is forwarded herewith. Your Commissioners are of opinion that Lake Ellesmere is rapidly becoming depleted of flounders of sufficient size to be of any value for the purposes of food, and that, while it still contains a large number of small immature and undersized fish, it contains a very small supply of the larger fish which were formerly obtained from the lake. Your Commissioners consider the principal causes of this are not far to seek. By the regulations gazetted in April, 1885, the mesh of the nets allowed to be used was 4-J-in., but this was lowered to 4in. by regulations of the 10th January, 1888, and these are the regulations now in force. On inspecting the nets actually in use in the lake we found few with mesh that exceeded 4|-in. These nets will take the yellow-belly and black flounders, which are the predominating varieties, from Bin. and upwards, measured over all—that is, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. The so-called " three-corner " flounders of less length than Bin. are taken by such mesh. A second cause of the depletion of the lake is excessive fishing. There are about twenty boats on the lake, and each of these boats has nearly two miles of set-nets for flounders. Making all allowance for nets that are being mended or are ashore for cleaning and other purposes, your Commissioners think that at least twenty miles of netting are set every day in the year for the purpose of taking flounders from the lake. Mr. Durant, the President of the Fishermen's Union, in his evidence, states that there are twenty-one boats engaged in fishing on the lake, and that each boat averages four cases, containing each about twelve dozen, per day. We think this estimate very excessive; but, even if half the number stated by him were taken by the fishermen— viz., two cases to each boat, of twelve dozen per case —the daily take would amount to over 6,000 flounders. The actual number taken can, perhaps, however, be more nearly obtained from the examination your Commissioners made of the books of the fish salesman to whom the flounders are forwarded for sale. We find the actual number of cases forwarded to him from Lake Ellesmere as the take of eighteen boats in sixty weeks, from the 2nd January, 1892, to the 3rd March, 1893, amounted to 5,785 cases, or an average of 96j% cases per week. To this must be added the number of cases sold locally, which your Commissioners were informed would amount to about twenty cases per week. This would make the total take per week equal to from 116 to 120 cases of about twelve dozen each, or over 17,000 flounders per week. It is evident that no enclosed water like Lake Ellesmere can stand this drain on it without showing signs of depletion. The evidence also shows that the flounders bred in the lake go out to sea in large numbers when the lake is let out; and, as the lake is now let out more often than formerly, at an unseasonable time of the year, this is another cause of the depletion. To enlai'ge upon this may be judicious. By the evidence taken it is plainly shown that the flounders of Lake Ellesmere are gradually becoming acclimatised to a different state of existence from that appertaining to the bulk of flatfish in other New Zealand waters, and are deteriorating fast, depreciation being enhanced by the palpable overfishing.