OySTEE CULTUEE CO:kIMrS3ION—APPENDIX, 
67 
preserving would materially enhance present price and control its future. With this end in view fishery townships would be 
benolicial; and, indeed, in any case, 1 cannot conceive a possibility of doing without thorn. As in every case a landlord is 
expected to furnish a dwelling site, and convenience for carrying on the particular pursuit of his farming tenant; but this 
a water leasehold cannot aiford, consequently a site of land should be attached to each leasehold. 
12. I have neither seen nor heard of any. I am told 2,000 bags of mangrove oysters were laid on some of the up-river 
beds two years ago ; but, as said in former reports, that is iu no respect an improvement to landlord’s benefit. 
Gentlemen, 
Your humble and most obedient servant, 
A. B. BLACK. 
UPPER EISHERY, PORT STEPHENS. 
This is by far our most important fishery, not only on account of its numerous fine natural oyster-beds, banks, and 
extensive oyster-grounds (every spot contained in enclosed plan, to whicli I b(‘g to refer for particulars, is good oyster-ground, 
and nearly all marshes, fit for trench culture), hut also on account of its aioaziug productiveness. 
It has been unrcmittedly worked fourteen years, not only by fifteen to twenty resident dredgers, and shell-getters of 
live oysters for limcburncm, but also, as other less important or extensive fisheries got from time to time ‘‘skinned” the 
“ skinners” generally resorted hither in a body, in the fixed belief that though other fislierios failed, Port Stephens was inex¬ 
haustible. Prom time to time forty-five boats at once have been at w’ork sending ^tpawninq opdpr aiul spat alike to market. 
It is plain that no beds how’ever prodmd ive could possibly withstaud such cxliaustive treatment. Accordingly, behold the 
results: probably not 1,500 bags young and old can at this moment be found on the whole fishery, quite capable if iu fair con¬ 
dition of producing 30,000 bags yearly, without tlie least injuring its breeding slock. Besides in addition it possesses an inex¬ 
haustible supply of cra^^-fish, which with oysters are capable of furnishing all, oitlicr ourselves or neighbours want, of either 
article, raw or preserved, certainly as cheap and as good as they can be imported from Auiericfi; and if beef didu't pay, there 
is no reason why preserving tlieso articles shouldn’t for the colonial market, if not for export. 
Withre.spcct to productiveness as well as exhaustiou, 1 beg to refer to enclosed statement of four respectable intelligent 
and exjwricnced dredgers, every particular of which I have had fully confirmed, as well from other sources as from an accurate 
examination of the beds and fishery. 
As regards spawning; of each off the seven beds therein referred to (which have been pariidlh} reserved, and in fact is 
the only ” stand by” of importance), with the “tongs,” I lifted, in each case, from a space not exceeding two square feet, 
fully 500, or nbotit half a bag of oysters, whioli were lying one above another just as thrown down in the “ clump,” and w’hich 
had lain thus undisturbed since April 1875, when laid. And so far from not improving in consequence of crowding, they had 
certainly improved, at least as much as their fellow's laid at same time, which were lying singly adjoining, for I compared 
them in each of the said seven beds one writh the other. 
Bub the most remarkable circumstance eounocted with the experiment is, that these mangrove ogsters'' had in one 
year changed their time of spawning from their regular limey namelify Aprily to that of dredge oysiersy viz.y Nocemher or 
Dccembery and also the fact tf shaping ihemselces to a form similar to that of the latter. They must have spawned (as shown 
by the young oysters, two year old, abundantly attached) just as laid down. Tlien next year (etpmlly shown by a fair crop of 
one year olds) to have spa^vned probably iu December; then this season shown unquestionably, by a fair sprinkling of spat 
four months old, to have spawned at same season of dredgers in November and December, confirmed also by being in process 
of recovery. Hence may fairly bo inferred (1st.) That oysters laid many tiers thick will tlirire as well as if laid singly. 
(2ndly.) Tliat lying more Mian one tier deep, the upper layers will fix more spawn as it rises than if lying eitlier singly or only 
one tier deep on a bed, consequently the latter must be less productive even relatively than a w ell-stocked bed. Therefore 
skinning won’t pay. 
In addition to the suggestions dredgers submit in statement (winch I venture humbly to recommend, not ouly on the 
merits thereof, but also because such seems to have been hazily floating in the brain of every dredger I have chanced to meet, 
without coherence or chance of emergence, there is also a strong desire expressed to be freed from the thraldom to which they 
are subjected by Sydney huyers. Happily, however, this could be as easily olfccted as it would be generally beneficial, viz.’: 
by providing that all oysters arriving in Sydney bo sold by auction at the Fish Market or other convenient spot, by public or 
Govemraont salesmen, subject to a reasonable percentage, to defray cost of wharfage, transport, buildings, and salaries of 
salesmen, &c. Sitch course would fully acconiplisli tho end desired, and certainly defray all necessary cost. Besides, why should 
fish-selling be so regidated with proved advantage, and that of oysters omiLted P 
Gentlemen, I have &c., 
A. B. BLACK. 
Statement of undersigned Dredgers constantly employed on Port Stevens Fishery, from its opening, 18G2, until present time, 
April, 1877, all of of whom own land adjoining. 
End ’G2 or early in ’G3, working to aiiy extent first began ; and unlike any other fishery, continuoiisly ever since. 
A lino from Alvall Creek south to Nelson’s Bay marks eastern limit of payable ground. Recently, however, oysters 
have appeared on south shore, eastward ; on both north and south sliores westward; around shore, and hanks; off all rocky 
islets ;^a little up some creeks, and to the hcml of navigation in olhoi*s “ hankers” abounded, and dredge oysters on numerous 
beds from Goat Island to laud of Karuan and its seveml bmneUos ; also a tluek ernsi of mangri)vo or rock oysters (generally 
unmarketable) exist everywiici-e in their separate limits, always in a line above that of bankers, which latter arc peculiar to this 
fishery; and in quality equal to most dredge oysters, whilst the whelk variety are superior. The last two years about 2,000 
bags were sent off ajnuially. , , i t i . 
ilareh and A])ril, ’75, lessee had 2,000 bags mangroves laid down on .sjveii different iiatuml beds, winch have improved 
less than was oxpeelcd, and not so inueh as wc aevcmlly have experienced in laying down (li*edge oysters. 
Probably the sudden cluinge of habitat influences the matter. Be lluit as it may, just after “ laying” they spaAvned, 
and being clean, and laid several clumps thick, a good crop of si)ab settled on the “ mangroves” alone, not on tlic other portion 
of cither of tho seven beds; uWt, singuljir to say, most of them spawnetl lUU year, hut same time the natives of the respective 
beds spawned ; and Inwo just recovered condition. Tliat fact, together with ihc slrongly-marked tendency to grow into a 
similar shape to that of said natives, clearly iioints to the inference that all the aforesaid varieties may spring from the one 
parent; als(» that difference of slmiJC, and habits, however great, is due to mere aeculent of po.rition. 
Measure of loork.—'Q^y and six following years, not less (often more) than twenty boats were constantly at work. 
Then nigh twelre months after the “closing” of otlier fisheries more than forty half the time, and afterwards twenty to thirty 
boats, Avhich continued til! iisliery was leased. Xlic fii-st year or two, of wliieli, twelve to fourteen boats were employed until 
absolute Bcnivily rctlueed tho number to seven, which also, from the same cause, have been, in the last eighteen monllis, 
reduced to four regularly, who eke out a living on their land. The balance of tlie seven come and go,—as any busK-work pays 
better and is easier. . , 
Measure of'^ ra/cA.”—*63 to ’70, the daily “ catch” kept regular, but falling off toAvards /O ; but as scarcity increased, 
so did labour to meet it. Early part of that time ten .and oven fifteen bags of bank or di'odge oysters were got in five or six 
hour.s ; the latter part it took twelve to fourteen hours to get t hat quantity. But after twenty of^ the forty boats mentioned 
left, tho akiunod beds Avoidd only yield ten to twelve Aveokly. Even this quantity gradually diminished till tlic past, twelve or 
eighteen months; when Avork as wo may, from daylight to dark, four to five bags weekly is the utmost obtainable of dredge and 
eight to (en of the best of mangrove oysters, at 4*3. and 8s. respectively—raised froraSs. and 7s. by arecent “ strike. None of 
the old bankers exist; hcncc the resort to mangroves. 
- Mvidence of productiveness. —The “ catch,” as stated, conveys an accurate idea of that of the dredge oyster, whilst that 
of bankers Avill be understood by the following facts :—Captain Banks supplied Sydney and Newcastle limekilns A\*ith live 
oysters. He laid his schooner on the soft bank, raked together the oysters, and completed tho loading within her own length 
around ; and i» those times wc got ten bagfuls in lengtli of boat. 
Present state of hanks. —The banka, formerly densely covered, are quite bare, not a tiling on them to fix spaAvn, save the 
whelks oil beds they affect, which often fix spawn, which as soou as marketable is taken, whelk and oyster together. Even tho 
extensive and very prolific natural beds occupying the whole of Corrie Creek and surrounding banks to west and south are 
totally 
