Season Opens
p. 167 · Read in the full issue
Minimum May
Be Raised
New Cal . Trochus Season Opens
THE 1956 New Caledonian trochus fishing season opens on May 1, and discussions were proceeding in the Colony in April as to the advisability of increasing the mini mum size at which the shell may be taken.
Present minimum is 8 centimetres and trochus experts from the In stitut Francais de I’Oceania, which has its laboratories at Noumea, think that it should be increased to 9 centimetres.
According to the experts, the 8 centimetres coincides with the period when the trochus is at its best as a reproducer.
With the high price of trochus, the number of people engaged in fishing has increased from 1,500 to 2,000 but at the same time the tonnage fished in 1955 was only 723 —which is 172 tons less than for 1954. This, say the experts, is a sign that trochus in NC waters is being over-fished.