THE AMERICAN OR QUINNAT SALMON.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13161, 7 July 1908, Page 11

THE AMERICAN OR QUINNAT SALMON.

EPS INTRODUCnON INTO NEW

ZEALAND S SEAS

By Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., Ccratob, CAMKI-BUKY MCSi-CM.

Though it is more or lees vaguoly bnoM-n that Am._-.ean salmoai are t__k_n in some New Zealand rivet-., the lull significance of the fact- is by no means g__i___illy apprecrkucd. The interest lies iv the ci__u___>t_>nee that such fish __. have in all prc-ba-biiixy been bred in New Zealand waters. Iliere is no absolute proof that these salmon have been actually bred here, and they may indeed be Uit survived individuals hat_hed from eggs introduced some years ago. Wheu, however, the lue-h-story of the Quumat is ut.dtirsuwd, it will be- coiiceae-d tii__t si___i pr__j_i-biiix-y io remote.

tn order that tho intore_.t__g luabits of this species may -be i_iid_-__o-d, it will be weal first uo rev;ow the tu__i_. ! coaieoi-niug the A.tLiii:i_ sukuou, ior by so do_ng the dillei-du-cs between the two tisdios Mid to bet-u-r appelated. Under tho luiuiiy name -.ulu.o_i_a.-o a_o iuciud.d, in addicon to tito __Umon and trout or van_,_ kind., tho Charts, and otiicr fishes which haw certain features in conuuou-. Among suck ieat-urcH may bo inonuojied the scaly .body and s_a___e\__ head, a fin in tiie middle of the back and ah-titie-i----ua neater the taul, tlao la,u t ._- no __u.ppo.pt._ig ray_, aud usoaJy ter.u.-U tho adtpe*.. uu; the pectorals or breast fin, aro p-at-ed k»,v and tho v._ura_l tins are as-LUti-ly b_ii___th tiie fiisa or rayed dwsai. The anal fin Lew on thio lower edge cif tlio Ixxiv beiwc.ii the vemtraJs and the tail, autl tiiis latter an dilicni to greatly in tho Atlantic and Pacific _ Coast salmon reepojtiveily bh-at it fu;-n_,_ie_ an, im_n_-__iate means of recognition-. Tho S::d_nc_i:dao are essential lv r-orthorn fishics ranging from tcn.p_.rl aito to arotic waters. Somo at them live ha!b;it.uaily in fresh water, others (salmon) live in tiho sea, btit asccaid rivers for purposes of spawning. None of thorn ypawins in t_ie sea, l_eneo they are not usiiaiUy found at gTeat dis"tancos from land, a ci-Ci_ms_amco which, to some extent, limits their dstri hurt ion, and is responsible for the term '-coast salmon" not infreQuently applied. Tho Auh-ntic, oar, as we may say, true Sainton, is t-chnncallv knowtn as Sa_ ! mo sala-r, and in common witlh all the Europoan members of tho family lias no more than eJieven rays in tho a. nail fin. It spends the .greater -pnrtioa of its life in tho sea, new the caasrt, wbeu. the water is cold amd -tear, in spring whan tlio rivers are swollen from m_t.i_a__.rr enow _, the salmon aracends, and in its determined passage tor breeding purposes it jumps stem-i-Wy rj.rnrpa_ssa.bie harrlors, a_id finaiily entamng a smaLl stream deposits its egaa ani tho gravelly bed. As a soc.al_od 'spoat salmon." it o-etu-rns to tiho sea. to recover its- condition, and agoi-n m the epa_ng forces a p_t_-_ao*o mv etreaon to spawn. In (passing j* may bo menit-x-iod that -the European trout, K!i_om _n as _-aiuio fario, _mr__y descends to the sea, a habit which, however, seems to bo growing with examples trned tit Now- Zealand. If, however, the salmon trout, called Safcrao trutta is. -but a «*--_■-___ form of the trout, a ••tow- gtUT-aig ground in England, the mann© l-,,h.t of this fish, ds not so _____ as has beam __n_gin___ ™fL IK3S . bc ? n a *ro«uble6o-ie tnartitor to d_st_n@uieJi between a salmon and a trout, amd various chare c-t-rs have been. d__.M7n and for the most part abandoned. A reHabdo oba_raot«r, at any rate, in orr old fish, appears to bo tiie presence or absence of teeth on tibe romer; thes is a bone Hying along the middle of the roof of the mouth tn trout of ' M.««is this bom© bcare teetn, wid thout-gh vomerimo teeth are presjanit in youmg sal-mon they are shed as tho fish grows oid-T. It wi3 be noticed thait all the European _kbes mentioned bear the .name Waimo amd this jiame also tetanus to the suilmon oi_ the east or Atlamtic coast of Amcmcra., M-hich ie, j 0 fact, a true salmon, o_n-liistiingjuisß_afa_e from, the liiiiropoan fish; it, therefore, is Salmo aatfar a_ao. On, -t-ho western coast of America miothor saimon is foumd; some exampics are lairgssf than the true salmon • they are regarded as of finer flavour' and cure -Ortreoncfty abundant, though of late yeojtj _. din-.itnition is observed due to over-fishing. vvwrvva, ■_ salmori differs structurally from its Atlantic relative; it has never less than fourteen rays in its anal fin it has more rays in its gill-covers, more, teeth in its gill rakes, and many more glands bdhind tho stomach than ih<Atlantic salmon has. The Pacific salmon has, therefore, another generic name; it has, of course, a differ-mt specific name also; these together look somewhat formidable—Oi_coi_]ynchus tschaM-ytscha. It. common name i.s the Quinmat; it is also called King eclmon and Chinook salmon. Of these salmon of the gonns Oncorhynchus (clharacte.ised, as w« have seen, by an increa_ed number of certain organs), six spccics aro known extending along both shores of tho North Pacific. The life ihistory of none of these species has been so M-ell studied ..s the Quinmat, and the foEowring information is, for the most part, gleaned from official reports on the American fisheries. "When a Quom-nat leaves the sea in tho oaring a_r.d en tore a river for spawning purposes, it goes to certain death. The distances travelled by these salmon are almost incredible They are known to a-seenel the Sacramento to its extreme headquarters, about four hun- | dred miles. It is rot knoM-n liom- far thoy travel in t3ie Columbia, but they ..N-xmd to at least tlio "Spoknmo Falls, from six to eight- hundred miles from the sea, journeying at the rate of four or five miles a elav. Many clio before thoy reach the spawning grounds, nnd iiircbo M-hich survive thus far are pitiful objects; their bodies are terribly bruised, and covered with patches of M-hito fungus. M-hich grows on tho sores. Their fins become mutilated, their eyes are often injured or totally destroyed, parasitic worms gather in" their g:'?«. and the M-holo fish becomes extremely emtio.ated. The flesh loses its rich red colour, and as soon as tho spaM-ning net is accomplished, all the fi-iVs die. When a Q._i_nnat loaves the eeo its •"hole exi*it«nce n-*oms to be expressed in tho word "onward." The salmon will not tako bait, and, dn fact, do not feed, their stomachs being empty and contracted, nnd of no furtlher use. Not only do the bodies of the salmon become bruised and diseased, but great changes take plaoe ia the general conformation al-o. due, or at least, intimately associated M'ith the development of the sexual organs and in no wav caused by tho change from salt to fresh Mater. As the season advances the difference batwoen the males a<nd fomaies become, more and more markid, (In. principally to chan2«s in the rr.'de-s. In these the tips of the ja w- become Idngth-Tied a-nd ott-evi oxtJ-avagantlj- hooked, so that they ei-hc-r prevent the mouth dor-i'iic-or shut side by side lil_e a pair of scissors. The front tectih prow Io"rg, like the canines of a dog, and thcec on the tonpjue and vomer oi'ten dirapnear. Ihe scai-*s disappear and the b-dy becomes more or 1-ess deformed by tlic appearance of a hump on the b,-.. at the earae time the c*-.our bhanges from a siilvery hue to a dingy blaok. Arrived at the spaM-ning grouaids, the fishes pair off: the ma.e_ by means of snout and tail, excavates a- broad, shallow nest in the bed of tie stream

in rapid water at a depth of from one to four feet, the fenu., deposits her e_y.s in it, and alter terti__*_iiio_» thov a_-e covered by tho parents with graveM and stone*. The adults then float do-wu-streani, tail foremost, and die. Ihe eggs hatch in about sixty days, and. soon afterwards the young uvike their way down to the sea. They grow i-apidiy ia the ocean, and at four yoare of age ascend the rivers as did t-iccx p___..uts before them.

Though the foregoing account is true of the vj-int'at. »m the m hole, a certain number, it \. _>u_el appear, do uot a_*v'iid to the head \v.tw> ot the rivers, but spawn i_e*are_- the sea. it is passu __t* mat thesw may survive the teasou and i-o out to h« again-. This factor muwt bo taken into .enous acooiui"- when wo consider the prot.i-ni_. con ai-'-iHxi wtt_t the introduction of t-ho Cjmnnat iiwo _sew Ztvwand waters. That -ii- introduced salmon now a_cend_ sune ol the Now Zeaia:xl rivers a::d spawns therein is an a.»olutc and imlß-pma-blv tact. A"* tion i... are these brcvdine * adults -i iL-.1i.-.-> bred m our u*.eis lo*u ve-ais orevionsiy. or are t..K\v e>_.a_up.*.Vixen have survived pi,v;e.ii_ _ re-ding seasons and have ri«, -cor.'-.cd Ui* 11vci-sr Y\ hir.i con -?ared m -_t_i the greai length o» tho rivei- c_ \\ o*t-e--n ".inerica, tho coiir-- of tiie* -Now- Zealand rivers Ls very slight, ami _n t:uur thus comparatively whorl jinirneyitigt.u* salmon wiil Ik> le_- sttt'jecr- to injury and di-ea.*.*. and a large-- IH'ree.;_._go will el riiht'le.-. su.i-.-:vo. Juyging by t':e succe... wi_:_-i bus aUc-Kl-.d riio introduction of tls-" Qninr.ii.t_ _-~ cwhero. nr.d the* app:irt*i;.t!y siiuabiC conditions of our wan,*-, I am leu to believe* that the Quinuat- is- now_ thor-oiV'-.'dv acclimatised with us. T'.io;iA-i principles .1 atn o::-|»;>-.od to r-helntroducu-'n of aliens among ly -^ t }' bers of o:rr t-au-na, 1 ilo not ngurd a.i.is iu-h in the same*- light. li docs net feed in the* rivers, and co:»>.-iiui:M-y will not disturb cur native fishers, or, rather, wh.it is 1...'. of tilioin. in tih-ci-c* columns I recently expressed the opinion that t-ie* trout had all but ox-toi-mii-ated tiie native grayling, .and sugsre.-rtod that mi'as it res be* takeni to _a*__to and prc-tec. exampbi- before lit Ls absolutely too late*. Tho damage which Quinnat could do in the ce-e.ui HscJf is inappreciable, and not to be taken into account.

Time only can decide tho question :— "Is the Qui:__nat ticcJiniatised in New Zealand waters?" Last year _i suc->cl-vsfuil in-.ipoita.tion of Ainorie-an bred o_.3s took place, the resuL-i-ng ij.fir-h-S will not bo mature until 1911, several years will be required to ciki-p-se, and at each successive season care<ful observation-- sliould be made, and a mnr.ibor of marked fish retumod to the Mater. No fresh importations should he m_.de uint-l it has been satisfactorily ascertained oithe-r that all Quinnat have died and aro as extinct (hi Now Zealand) as the dodo, or that New Zea-land-bred salmon are peopling our waters. In the former or.se it will b<_ que-.ir.rva'b-c if M - e p:____i>.ti'te n-____sary conditions for a_x_im-i__i_-it_an of tho particular species—in the latter we oaai produce our own ova, and it may be n6-____iry only to impe>rt now blood from timo to time.

I have asseited that tho Qu_-n.n__t is indisputably spawuririg in In'ow Zealand rivers. A. few days ago Mr L. F. Ayson, Ch___ " incspeotor ctf Fisheries in the Dominion, placed a salmon in smy hands for repcxrt. It w-as takon, along with others, ill the Waitaki, and was terribly emaciated and deformed. It is a "spent" male Quinnat, and from its condition I should judge that it would never have regained tho ocean alivo. Previously, however, Sir James Hector had examined NeM- Zealand caught salmon, and pronounced them to bo Quinnat. As I have bttfoxe said, with the knowledge above indicate-, the Pacific salmon can be immediately distinguished from all members of the genus Salmo, that is Atlantic salmon and tbe trout of various kinds.

It is beyond the seSopo of the present articlo to dilate upon tho enormous value of tho salmon to the United States. In one year it fi_,rnished a larger supply by 800,0001b than any other food fish, the catch being nearly 5,000,00C_b. The canned salmon, with which we are all so familiar, is largely the yield of the Quinmat, butt the enc_mous supply is only maintained by systematically collecting the hatching them artificially, and planting the young fish in suitaMo streams. I have beeu told that a certain well-known commercial firm decided to economise one year in the direction of advertising; the results wore so disastrous that in subsequent years the firm had to expend large sums in advertising in order to regain its former business. So rigorousily arc tho American salmon fisheries pursued, that the suspension of artificial propagation has a most marked effect on the future supply. Iv consequence of blasting operations in connection with tho building of a new railway, the Sacramonto River M-as closed for some time, and artificial rearing of salmon ceased. In subsequent years the catch decreased from 9,000,000 to 3,500,0001b, but when "planting"' operations wore resumed tho increase of tho takes Mas very marked, and tho necessity of the work was cloarly damonstratoel.

Wo have learned how to distinguish the Quinnat from the Atlantic salmon, and also knoM- something of its life history as studied in its native waters. It remains, howerver. to chronicle the various attempts which havo been made to introduce this valuable fish into New Zealand. All tho operations in connection with this work wero conducted by my friend, Mr Ayson, and to him 1 am greatly indebted for so kindly responding to my request for some information on the subject; in fact, much of tho following is simply transcribed from Mr Ayson _ notes. The first importation of Quinnat salmon eggs took place in 1875, and from that year to 1880 several shipments wero made from California, some by the Government, and some by Acclimatisation Societies. Those shipments wore parcelled-out to various societies, and the young fish Mere planteds in different rivers and streams from tho Wairoa in the North of Auckland to the .Makere wa in Southland. Tiie result - of these importations would seem, howover, to have been quite unsuccessful, hh, ocean having, apparently, swallowed them up. In 1900 tho Government decided to make a vigorous and systematic effort to acelinu.tiso this salmon. A site for a hatchery anel rearing station won cboecn on the H .kaWamea River, a tributary of tho Waitaki, and the erection of the hatchery taii'dings Mas commene-eel in November of that year. It was tjceidcrl to confine o-e.r-tions to one of the rivers considered to be most suitable for the fish: and Mr Arson chose the Waitaki ns. in itfl gene-rrd characteristics, it b»nrs con. Hera bio res^m-lance to those frequented by the Quinnat on the Pacific Co-art of America. In ■T-'nuary. IW. th« first sh*"nv»nt of enrrj. for the Government .•.•dmnu Station arrived. They were supplied by -the United St.t<_- Bti.rr-'.t cf F-Vh-or-V*. from its Bsird Hn.tob«_rv. on tho -'IcCoud rhnor fa hriTr.it n.ry of tV* S*icramem.o). in GaW'foTni-!. The -Jr_r"n*e_rt w*ps ore dhv.roy* of Mr G. H. Tiam.Von. of the TV» .?-d Hnt<iV\rv, '' T riv-~d ;•. (!?*>_ t-*'- **'>rdit!o.?i In 1902 a shipment of Sckoyo sal-r-rrri CO-rxorl'yri'-hns nev-!...) e.yrs ..r-----rrr~l frr»:n Cnrnd-;, and in IHO, a 5...V !>:.-T:t of Atl**_if-y* •vj'rriC-i <v,t> wni. r*-*-----■--.-'r-d *V .*n F-v-'--ltv_. Tin tiSe importation of Quinnat was resumed, and ? .i:* i'Tvivd every v-wc w..-.._.-it bi-c-n 1-r '*:_•*-!! 1907. As yen rx-.n falmo,n y.--r.-d:_vr*ovcT_rl in .he W.t'.-i 1 -:' river and trnV-rSriries during the ihr- rfprerioiis spawn in.:; sc-is-nns. it was d°reded -to await derc.rvrvn.'p.nrts befor' i n>rr>--e*c*__rM. further with tho import..- ] tion of -"..?_.. The tot-.-,! mii-ibce* <■>' Qninnat salmon eggs importcel from 1901 to 1907 m-__. nearly two millions. aiad the ahipmie-ite invßiritiixly arrived

in first-class condition. It » cafe- to e-ay fliat from these egg» fully •, 1,500,000 young fish from fry to two* yoax-old fish wore liberated in, tbe different tributaries of thw" Woitaldv Now, as regards uhe dv&iuto resufte obtained from ail the young fish plant<xl. ■ In 1905 sererai sa-lmon wore reparted as having bean caught by anglers near the month of the Wiitaki nvw, and a specimen caught m De- . ©ciinUcir <>f that year wns seat, to Sir James Hector for identification. He prunounced it to bo a young male of the genus Oncorhynchus. Hi May and Juno, 1900. t-aJntou were found spiiwnlng in the ilafcatarsmma, and sjKxrdmtMis sent to the miuw authority . wore identified as Pacific Const wdmon also. In April and-May- last voter, salmon - wero again soon spawning in the Hakataramea and Waitaki Hirers, and reports came to hand of a large run of th«-e fish in the Ahuriri, Ohau,and streams flowing into tire Tokapo. While, netting spawning brown trout h> the liiikataramca several ripe salmon were • caught and "stripp<?d, : ' and altogether 30,000 salmon eggs \vere taken. The offiis hatched well, and lie progeny art now bcin£ roared in ponds at the sal* men station. Last season it was esti. mated that quite tiiroe hundred salmoa spawnml in the Hakataramoa, from whoro it joins the Waitaki the gorge, a distance of about three miles. This season reports are .to band of a good many salmon having ..been cancht liy anglers at the mouth -of £be Wii> taki from January to March, and aim of somo being taken anglers in the Uangitita, but no specimens of theee fush woro obtained for identification. At HakaUirainoa a careful. look-OQt was kept for salmon coming in to spawn. Tho first fish made their pearance towards tho end of April, buk nono we-ro taJcen in the "pound net,*? oroct-ed near the mouth of the Bak»> taramen, until the first week in May. Throughout May several hundred «aY niori ran into the Hakatarame*, .but* owing to freshes in the ri-rer, it vaa impossible to hokl tihe "pound nete," and the fbh got up into the deep pooh in tho gorge, where they were prettf safe from all the nets used at the asf* nion station. Howerer, over a hua--drtxl salmon (including a number ef spent iish) _wero caught in. the" Hakataramoa this eoason, and folly 60,000 eggs were collocted. .-;■''. The fish that ran up this season wen on an ux-erago considerably larger than those seen during the two previous ymrs. A nujnber of tihoee ceuoghit in tiho Hatrataramea measured from three to tJiroe amd a half feet on length, ■ and ■ one . dead specimen in Haldane creek measured tkree ifeet tax inches fxenn iJho ro6t of tJio tail to the Mnoat (fcho tail having Leen -wotji off in' spawning). Amorican experts estimato tliat Quumat salmon lose fufly a tihird <nf tlveir -weig-h*. in spowning, and this opinion is borne out by the apecime-ns of spent fish ca«ght duriTjg tho twx> last spa-wnang Roasans. They were, w:ithon* exoeption, in a terribly omaciatod oandiition, so $iat tbo larg- - est individi>als takcji this season would, nvhen froshfiy sea rum, he T»rylieavy, probahly over forty pourads. " ' An int-C'Fcst'ing' feature of the ran of salnwn dmrimg the last two. seaeone' is tihe great number which found their way into the large tributaries v c£ the Waitaki, via., the Ahuriri, Ohaa,' mad Tok.npo. xiiie matter has been owe- " fuQy investigated, aad large tuundbera of fish 'have been sdfcs KpawainK; tnrniqr *• doad once have Deen Pound Tn these sti-eame over a hundred smiles from the J sea: a.nd eoecimene h&re been' identi- - fied by iTidogpendioab ouoerte, a« Qokk> nn f sn'n-on. Mr Ayson nemarks that wnife ft it' tru-o Tiliat tJie Quinuat is mat a qpor£> img fish to th-e same extent ac tib* Atlantio ealnton-, yet it gives epiendil sport in bays and at tbe mbothi ef ■ rivers, w>here ft can be readily takes •with spinning bait.