Trout transporter

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33095, 9 December 1972, Page 11

Trout transporter

A stainless steel trout transportation unit, which resembles a milk tanker, has recently been delivered to the Wildlife Division of the Department of Internal Affairs, Rotorua. The new unit will be used to carry thousands of trout fingerlings and yearlings from the department’s hatchery at Ngongotaha to any part of the country where trout are required to restock lakes, streams and rivers. The Hamiltonbuilt unit can also be used to carry trout salvaged from streams which have dried up either by man-made or natural causes. It replaces a former delivery unit which consisted of two tanks mounted on the rear of a truck. This unit had considerable

limitations In the distance it could travel bebore the water had to be changed and in the problem of heating of the water through heat absorption. These difficulties have been overcome in the new unit so that the young trout now arrive at their destination in a much better condi-♦:-'n to start their new life. The most obvious improvement is that the new unit has a greatly increased carrying capacity. It can carry up to 40,000 fingerlings compared with 15,000 in the old unit The water is recirculated and can be injected with oxygen while the unit is travelling. This can be done independently in each of the three compartments if necessary.

Oxygen is obtained from six cylinders. Previously the water had to be changed and this meant stoppages, thus prolonging the delivery trip. Overheating is prevented because the compartments have a double-thickness cork Insulation. Previously, arrangements had to be made for ice to be available along the route. There is an improvement, too, in the method of release of the trout. Previously the trout were tipped into the water from a bucket but now they are released right into the water from a 40ft plastic hose. The compartments are made of stainless steel, which means easier maintenance.