QUINNAT SALMON.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 10832, 2 April 1932, Page 2

QUINNAT SALMON.

POSSIBLE MIGRATIONS IN SI WATERS, The discovery of a quinnat sates in the Wanganui River opens ujß interesting field as to the poaSii migrations of these fish in New to land waters. They are found lered over a very wide range of in the countries they come fromk the Northern Hemisphere, but vlfl they have a great fondness (of tic waters, they do not appear tow for the warmer seas. -New Zeates temperate as it is in climate, hssoa, a small coastal range of , lamp compared with the American, Asa and European habitats of satea but it is doubtful if the quinnat» raon would bo likely to favour * , sens in the extreme north of » North Island, so that the coas range is still further curtailed. C» currents f rom the. Antarctic .Tati ? considerably, however, from yeatS year, that the annual migrations* quinnat in New Zealand may iff accordingly. _ ’ It was the opinion of Mr bMiie who forwarded the fish taken is® Wanganui River to Ihe Chief w lor of Fisheries, that it was an* lantic salmon smolt, hut that os® had no difficulty in it was a quinnat, the first to be tow so far north. The anal fin branch rays, whereas in the Atiara salmon and trout the number branched anal rays is never than 10. An Atlantic smolt a® the Te Anau district has nine Of rays in the anal fin, and ft smolt from Hakataramca The upper jaw in the specimens® the Wanganui River is long, ana tends behind the hinder margin the eye, whereas In Hip Atlantic mon smolts there is a shorter P jaw extending no further part the pupil of the eye. ■ /Ik* deep body was typical of the on™* The Atlantic, at any rale in or smolt stages, is a slender, ated fish. Perhaps the most «»•* distinguishing characteristic quinnat in all stages Is the lively short distance between hinder end of the ventral £ the front edge of the anal va. only other salmon which the tor* ed smolt might have been, s* Retford, was the Sockeye, hut only 22 gill rakers, which Mg, with the quinnat character®** while the Sockeye has 30, The first quinnat eggs ed 'at Hakataramea in 1 / UI while some were retained for i er stocking of the Waitakl t les, most of the attempts to tfze the fish in other stream** for a number of years connneo _ Hokitika (West Coast) and (Marlborough) rivers, $ parent success. Some were P jS j the Upper Clutha., at these account for the quinnat in the Wanaka. Otn liberated in the Kawara . Queenstown, accounting for quinnat in Wakatipu. were put into the Seaforth * River in the Fiord country m but there is no definite P rool success of these liberation ■ have been accounts of the „ of quinnat in the Sounds, - there is a close similarity ID $ ance of quinnat and kahaw sea—the Australian kahawa salmon”—the reports are ciently convincing. La st » . was reported that quinnat taken at the mouth of south of Hokitika, but tne could not be verified. j jg&l has a definite stock of IM* quinnat. , From 1917 to date a nnU ?*.L g? ments of about half a mi have teen sent to Wairau, rough, but though quinnat river have been identified. hers as let have uot been app ,