John Arnold<p>_The Evening Post_, 7 March 1925:<br> THE OYSTER SEASON<br> FIRST CATCH LANDED<br> HOW THE TRAWLERS WORK<br> An excellent haul of “the first <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/oysters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>oysters</span></a> of the season” was made by the <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/Bluff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Bluff</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/trawling" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>trawling</span></a> fleet on Tuesday last, a total of four small steamers being engaged in the task, and returning to port laden with luscious bivalves.<br> The fleet made for the main oyster beds between Dog Island and the island of Ruapuke. These beds are always tried out at the first of the season, for they lie in shallow water … and it has been found that the shallow water oysters are the best, being hard-shalled [sic], large, and plump. The sea-floor of Foveaux Strait is covered from the western to the eastern extremity with huge oyster beds.…<br> The beds having been reached after 1½ hours steaming, the crew of five men on each boat commenced the serious work of the day. The boats began to steam slowly up against the tide at four knots per hour, and the dredging gear was got ready. There are two dredges on each boat—one forward arid one aft. They are worked both on the same side of the boat, and are slung over the side on half-inch wire rope running through derricks attached to the fore and mizzen masts.…<br>[A detailed description follows]<br><a href="https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19211217.2.79.20" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/news</span><span class="invisible">papers/EP19211217.2.79.20</span></a><br><a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/OnThisDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OnThisDay</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/OTD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OTD</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/PapersPast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PapersPast</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/Fishing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fishing</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/Southland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Southland</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/FoveauxStrait" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FoveauxStrait</span></a> <a href="https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/NewZealand" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NewZealand</span></a></p>