Regulating the Industry

Trochus Shell

ACCORDING to an article in The Sydney Morning Herald, of Sep tember 9, the alarming decline in export of trochus has induced the Queensland Government to introduce a Bill giving authority for the regula tion of this industry.

Under the Bill, which was read the first time, the Govemor-in-Council is empowered to prescribe the minimum size of shell that may be taken, and the times during which fishing will be allowed. The penalties for breaches of the act are a fine not exceeding £5 for every undersized shell, and the for feiture of the catch.

Speaking from many years experi ence in fishing and trading for shell in the Solomons, it would seem wiser to ban the taking of shell over rather than (or as well as) under a given

size. Assuming that it does not begin breeding until it reaches a size of 2½ inches base diameter or thereabouts, which is the usual minimum size worked upon, there is not very much difference between taking it just before or just after it reaches that size, except that by leaving it, a very small pro portion *is given another chance to escape the fisherman until it reaches a size of say 31 inches.

If shell over this measurement — which is not nearly so valuable in the market as shell under that size—were left, it would still have a long breeding life before it, and thus the chances of its being fished out would be lessened, while the manufacturer would be get ting a grade more to his liking.

Trochus has its peculiarities. Writer has seen an isolated reef diligently “combed” for the first time and only yield 3 cwts. of old limy shell, while two years later a similar combing turned out 21 tons of nearly all first grade young stuff. I leave the explan

ation to others-

R.J.L.

Neiafu, the port of Vavau, Tonga.