H.—ls.

The following table gives ail indication of the rapid increase in the number of inspections of recent years : — v Number of v Number of ear " Inspections. ear ' Inspections. 1915-16 .. .. .. .. 17,857 1921-22 .. .. .. .. 31,876 1916-17 .. .. .. .. 19,362 1922-23 .. .. .. .. 33,124 1917-18 .. .. .. .. 21,118 1923-24 .. .. .. .. 32,891 1918-19 .. .. .. .. 22,614 1924-25 .. .. .. .. 35,797 1919-20 .. .. .. ..25,824 1925-26 .. .. .. ..42,529 1920-21 .. .. .. 28,553 1926-27 .. .. 47,209 Fisheries. The loss on the Fisheries Branch for 1926-27 amounted to about £1,200. This was largely due to the poor oyster season, which was the worst experienced for a considerable number of years. The net profit for the season was £1,347 lis. 7d., as compared with £2,517 3s. lid. for the previous season. The inferior quality of the oysters necessitated closing the season much earlier than usual. The following is a return of the number of sacks picked from the beds since 1911, the gross sales each year, and the net profit earned :—

During the past year or so erratic climatic conditions and sea temperatures have prevailed. The Chief Inspector of Fisheries has been giving the subject his close attention, but it is impossible at the present juncture to venture definite opinion. Ross Sea Dependency. The royalties on whale-oil received in connection with the Eoss Sea Dependency realized a substantial increase during 1926-27. The following shows the revenue year by year since the Dependency has been under the Department's administration : Year, 1923-24, £200 ; 1924-25, £200 ; 1925-26, £1,720 12s. 6d. ; 1926-27, £2,921 ss. Foreshore Revenue. The revenue from foreshores for the year under review amounted to £5,988 17s. 4d., as compared with £5,704 2s. 4d. for the previous year. Meteorological Branch. The Meteorological Branch was transferred to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research during the year, this Department thereby being relieved of expenditure approximating £6,000 per annum. As the appropriation for the branch had been included under vote " Marine Department," we continued to make payments for the whole year on behalf of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Westport Harbour. The cash account in respect of Westport Harbour also shows a substantial surplus. The following are the receipts and payments ofr the past six years : — y ear Receipts. Payments, 1921-22 .. .. .. .. .. 31,412 75,642 1922-23 .. .. .. .. .. 44,020 50,303 1923-24 .. .. ..44,126 44,588 1924-25 .. .. .. .. .. 49,566 40,949 1925-26 .. .. .. .. .. 56,920 49,876 1926-27 .. .. .. .. .. 63,181 46,907

4

Year " of Sac b ks. j Gross Sales ' Year " o 1 ? Sack's, j Gross Sales - £ s. d. £ s. d. 1911.. .. .. 4,782 3,013 6 8 1919 .. .. 7,256 5,363 8 3 1912.. .. .. 7,728 5,212 0 0 j 1920 .. ,, 6,979 6,296 8 6 1913.. .. .. 9,069 6,157 14 0 1921 .. .. 7,219 7,763 7 4 1914.. .. .. 8,361 5,770 3 0 1922 .. .. 7,323 7,702 10 0 1915.. .. .. 9,634 6,714 18 6 1923 .. .. 6,800 7,355 17 6 1916.. .. .. 8,172 5,692 11 a 1924 .. .. 6,841 8,395 9 3 1917.. .. .. 10,357 6,890 3 0 i 1925 .. ! 8,297 10,205 5 0 1918.. .. .. 10,422 7,516 13 6 ' 1926 .. .. I 6,771 8,344 10 0