H—ls

Fishing-vessels and Personnel The number of licensed fishing-vessels operating in 1945 was 721, the same as 1944. It should be remembered, however, that the total number is not the important factor, but the type and size of the vessels engaged. It is necessary, therefore, to check these details as given in Table I before drawing the conclusion that the fishing fleet is of the same fishing power as in the previous year. From the table it will be seen that the Danish-seiners have dropped by 2 ; this is accounted for by vessels wrecked and not yet replaced. Steam-trawlers —the heaviest catching units of all —have increased by 1, due to the return of one of the Auckland trawlers from service ; motor-trawlers have increased by 2, and 11 vessels were engaged in part-time trawling and part-time line-fishing ; these are, in effect, additional to the trawler fleet, as in the old tables they would have been included as part-time trawlers instead of being placed in a separate category. Whole-time net and line boats have increased from 168 to 211, and the part-time ones decreased to 278—t0 this figure one should add for comparative purpose the 11 part-time trawlers which engaged in line-fishing —leaving a gross decrease of 17 vessels. This is offset by the fact that several vessels in this class have been replaced by more up-to-date and efficient units. The oyster-dredging and mussel-dredging fleets remain the same as before at 9 and 3 respectively. The whole-time crayfishing vessels are the same, but a decline of 6 in the part-time section of this fishing is to be noted. The whole-time fishermen increased from 711 to 877 and the number of part-time men declined from 641 to 536, an overall gain of 61. It can be stated here that 1946 will show a steady increase in both fishing-vessels and personnel. The time-lag after the ■cessation of hostilities has had the effect of putting off the resumption of fishing units from service and the return of personnel until the 1946 licensing year. A number of fishing-vessels for which licenses will be issued are under construction and, it is hoped, will be in production in 1946. The supply of high-powered Diesel •engines suitable for fishing-boats is still difficult, and is a major problem in the construction of new units and in the maintenance of the older vessels at their maximum efficiency. Fish Landings The total landings of fish and shell-fish landed at the various ports are shown in Table 11. Snapper, as always, is the most abundant species and the weight landed and the percentage in relation to the total weight are approximately the same as last year, being 109,009 and 32-86 per cent., as against 109,013 and 35-37 per cent, in 1944. Tarakihi shows another increase from 44,980 cwt. to 63,829 cwt., now providing 19-24 per cent, of the total landings, as against 14-59 per cent. There has been a slight drop in the groper (hapuku) landings from 21,901 cwt. to 21,672 cwt., with a corresponding decline in the percentage of the total from 7-11 to •6-53. A decline of such order is, however, within the orbit of the variations from season to season and is not a matter of great concern. The blue cod caught remains fairly steady at 19,160 cwt., representing 5-78 of the total. The flatfish total (flounders, soles, brill, and " mixed flats ") shows a substantial increase of 3,558 cwt., from 31,610 cwt. to '35,168 cwt., the soles accounting for the major part of the increase. The relative position of the species of lesser importance can be seen in the table which follows. This table gives the weight and value of each species caught for the years 1944 and 1945. The main point of interest is that snapper and tarakihi combined furnish over 50 per cent, of all the fish caught.

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