Prince. — New Zealand Fisheries 119 



AREA. 



The two main islands, with Stewart Island at the 

 southern extermity, embrace an area of 103,581 square 

 miles, and extend a length of about 1,000 miles, with 

 a breadth varying from fifty to two hundred miles. The 

 coast line, 4,330 miles, is indented by beautiful bays like 

 the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Golden Bay and Hauraki 

 Gulf, etc., and the picturesque shores are washed by the 

 open South Pacific Ocean on the east, and deep Tasman 

 Sea on the west. 



AREA OF AVAILABLE FISHING LIMITS. 



I estimated the inshore waters, 10 to 30 fathoms deep, 

 at not less than 20,000 square miles, while about 25,000 

 square miles range from 40 to 50 fathoms in depth, and 

 outside these (10 to 20 miles from shore) the depth 

 descends to 300 or 400 fathoms, and greater depths lie 

 beyond. The inland lakes are famous for their exqui- 

 site beauty, the shores in most cases being backed by 

 lofty mountains with forests of tree-ferns and giant 

 kauri and totara trees, the beautiful red pine, rata and 

 various birches or beeches. Some of these lakes are 

 of considerable area, Taupo for example, 250 square 

 miles, Te Anau, 132 square miles; Lake Wakatip, 120 

 square miles; the last descending to a depth of 1,300 

 feet in some places. The total area of the lakes includ- 

 ing rivers, some of which like the Clutha or Molyneux 

 are 150 miles long, approaches 15,000 square miles or 

 about one-sixth of the area of the Great Lakes of this 

 continent. 



VALUE OF FISHERIES ; NUMBER OF FISHERMEN, ETC. 



The fisheries have not been developed to any great 

 extent, the population of New Zealand being small 

 (1,115,000), and the demand for fish limited, while the 

 main outside markets have been those of Australia, to 

 which considerable exports of fish have been made. 



