Trout Released In Avon

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31117, 21 July 1966, Page 1

Trout Released In Avon

Schoolboy anglers, using both legal and illegal gear, have taken so many trout from the Avon river in recent years that it is now rare to see a trout in the river. Concerned at the diminished number of trout, the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society yesterday had two tanks full of good-sized fish brought from the Selwyn river and released in the Avon near Armagh street. Officers of the society liberated 108 hen fish and 24 jack fish. The females were all ripe with ova, and are expected to spawn on Avon shingle banks straight away. The most likely spots are near the island below Hereford street

and on the shingle near the Antigua boat sheds. Mr G. Ferris, chairman of the society’s fish committee, said the hen fish would have about 1200 eggs each, and about three-quarters of them should hatch. The young would take two years to grow to takeable size. The fish were caught in a trap in the Selwyn river near Chamberlain’s Ford the night before and transported to Christchurch in special tanks supplied with oxygen. Mr Ferris said the trap was Installed in the Selwyn every two years to check the spawning run, which started in late April and continued until the end of July.

“Generally,” he said, “this trap contains each morning from 150 to 300 brown trout averaging in the main 31b to 41b. These fish are briefly examined and passed over the trap upstream where in' nor-

mal years they can run up to Whitecliffs and the Gorge. "With the low rainfall from April to the present time, the river is dry for more than 10 miles, and rather than cause an accumulation of trout in the mile and a half above the trap, we have allowed only enough fish over the trap to balance the available spawning water. “Since early June we have transferred each morning all the fish in the trap, using two salvage units, to the upper waters from Coalgate to Whitecliffs, where they have ample spawning facilities of food, shingle, and volume of running water. “We have dealt with more than 1500 fish a week. In the event of a good fresh we will discontinue this procedure, of course, but we have erected a barrier upstream from the trap to prevent fish running up during a minor fresh and

becoming stranded when the water recedes.” Mr Ferris said it was hoped that the spawners released in the Avon would spawn—or that a number of them would —-within the city limits. "This could be interesting to the general public,” he said. "Secondly, we hope that this liberation will result in a proportion at least remaining in the city area where they can be a source of interest to the public and to visitors. “If successful, we would be encouraged to carry out further limited releases of Selwyn brown trout when the opportunity presents itself.” The photograph shows the trout being released from a salvage tank by Mr G. Webb (left), a field officer of the society, and Mr G. Hughes, a cadet field officer.