§ Sir L. Lyleasked the Minister of Agriculture what steps are being taken to increase the capturing of eels for food; and whether the owners of riparian rights are co-operating?
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Mr. HudsonWith the object of stimulating interest in the capture of eels—of which there are undoubtedly large quantities available in this country—demonstrations were carried out by officers of my Department in 1940 at various places with a certain type of net known as a Dutch fyke. These demonstrations, which are being continued this year, have been attended by considerable success and, it is believed, have achieved a useful purpose. The difficulty has been to satisfy the demand for the particular type of net in question, these nets being a product of the Netherlands and made of silk. An effective substitute for silk has, however, lately been discovered, and if adequate supplies are forthcoming from the U.S.A. it is probable that the production of the nets by manufacturers in Great Britain to satisfy the demand will follow. Riparian owners generally have been co-operating in the project and have shown much interest. Owners of mills provided with eel racks to catch the migrating eels in the autumn have been advised, whenever the opportunity arose, to recondition the racks, if out of repair, in order to make them capable of operating effectively.