CONDITION OF TROUT

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 141, 17 June 1938, Page 10

CONDITION OF TROUT

NEW POLICY IN OPERATION I IMPROVING THE SPORT With a view to maintaining the ' standard of. well-conditioned trout in ] the lakes and streams of Rotorua and ' Taupo and keeping abreast of the ' normal breeding period of fish, the ! Department of Internal Affairs, under | its new policy, is now taking ova for ] hatching . from early-spawning fish. , This step, the Minister of Internal Af- ' fairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) stated , today, coincided with the' closing of j the fishing season two weeks earlier . than was usual in the past and pro- ' tected the early-spawning fish from . being taken. The establishment of a new, extensive, and well-equipped , hatchery at Ngongotaha, Rotorua, had helped greatly in the rearing of/early ( trout fry for liberation. ( "Today, 'green' ova is being. transported eighty-odd miles to the new , hatchery at Ngongotaha, with scarcely • any loss," said the Minister. "The carriage of 'green' ova such a long , distance, with little mortality, con- j stitutes a record and opens up a wide field for activity for the future. To date the officers have stripped from spawning, fish hundreds of thousands < of eggs earlier than was done in any v previous year. „ So successful -has l been the work'that it will be possible £ to liberate fry in the lakes . and \ a month in advance of libera- r tions in the past. I am sure fishermen x jvill view "this improvement as being t very satisfactory. If it can be con- a tinued year by year, we should be t in a position to make a further step c in our policy to eliminate the late- a spawning fish, which are of no use t during the angling season." r The interesting phases of the i; spawning of trout had been closely r studied, the Minister said. It was t: discovered that the trout of the waters u of Rotorua spawned nearly all the i] year round. Usually the "run" of the fish up the streams for spawning start- 0

. ed about the beginning of May. t JUSTIFIABLE COMPLAINTS. " "The late spawning fish have been a 1 sourcfe of dissatisfaction to anglers for many years," Mr. Parry continued. • "They are slabby, and when taken in . that condition during the angling sea- . son, there are justifiable complaints ; about them. These fish have been i held up as evidence of the deteriora- , tion of the fisheries, and in 90 per . cent, of the fish their condition is due 1 to spawning—the performance of the , ordinary function of nature. Some two years ago this was, pointed out to anglers; that fish could not be expected to be in high grade condition ! when they had just gone • through t their natural breeding function. It ■ was the same, / in that way, with the domestic fowl or animal." From all quarters he had received most gratifying reports of the fishing obtained in the Rotorua and Taupo district during.the last.season. Anglers considered the season to have been the best enjoyed for seven years, and the fish all round to have been in better condition. A SOUND FOUNDATION. "I was informed by Rear-Admiral Drummond," said Mr. Parry, "that he had taken 14 fish on the fly at Lake Okataina, scaling 109jib'. He had also taken 37 fish weighing 2661b, the average being 71b; 32 fish at Ohau Channel turning the scales at 1421b, the average weighing 4Jlb. The largest fish taken in the season was lOJlb, at Lake Tarawera. I feel that the splendid condition of the fish is due to the policy of placing food, particularly into Lake Taupo, which in our opinion makes a sound foundation to work upon." -