ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Evening Star, Issue 7226, 31 May 1887, Page 4

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The following are the principal clauses of the annual report of the Council of the Otago Acclimatisation Society :-r At the OpohoGrounds Mr Deans has erected another hatching-house lower down the stream, catching all the outflow of the upper races, and getting besides the benefit of several springs which o >me into the creek below the upper dam. The lower house has accommodation for 100,000 eggs; in the upper houso we can lay down 150,000 ova. Between tho two we havo thus hatching accommodation for 200,000 eggs. On December 31 there were 80,250 brown trout fry, 450 salmon fontinalis, six months qld; fortyfour do, two years old. During the year Mr Burt had been bually at work getting the Waiwcra ponds ready for tho operations the Society expeot to carry on there, and very great progress lias been mado. In these ponds, on the Slat December, there were 260 Loch Levon trout, three years old; 1,600 do, six months old; 8,000 salmon, eighteen months old; 9,000 do, six months old; 3,500 salmon fontinaliH, six months old; 3W burn trout, two years old; 66,000 brown trout fry. The treasurer's report is again very satisfactory, although the outlay had been rather heavy, and wo have not had the same amount of sales of ova. The other societies are now depending more upon their own stock, and consequently do not require so much as this Society, whose revenue for the year had been mainly derived from the fishing licenses, close upon 500 having been issued. Of these sixty-nine were boys' licenses, showing that year by year the sport is finding more favor among the rising generation. The Council renewed their grant to the Otago Anglers' Association of a gold medal for the encouragement of fly-fishing pure and simple. It has.been decided, however, that

iii future the modal will be open for competition to all our license-holders. !■: Of game birds the Council can only repeat their previous laments, that pheasants and partridges are gradually disappearing, although it is reported that in one or two favored localities pheasants aie fairly numerous. Of the robins liberated at West Taicii we hear that some are occasionally seen, but during the winter their more conspicuous dress will probably bring them more under notice. The balance of Mr Bills s shipment of robins to the number of twenty was also secured by the Council and liberated at Opoho The following birds introduced by the Society have become numerous:—Starlings, skylarks, goldfinches, greenfinches, blackbirds, thrushes, oh il buntings, and yellow-hammers. The starling especially has increased enormously, and many instances are on record of the great amount of good it has done. The Rev. Mr "Waddell, who recently visited England, was requested to make inquiries as to the possibility of introducing marsh - feeding birds, which would not likely be affected by the poisoned grain. He reports adversely as to the chance of getting snipe, but through the kindness of the curator of the Zoological Gardens in London he has been enabled to make arrangements by which we have every reason to hope we may succeed in getting some birds of the plover and ruff spucies. The herds of deer at Morvon Hills, Horse Range, and Tapanui are reported to be increasing, and largo numbers are occasionally teon. The three Japanese deer turned out at Otekaiko are also doing well. Salmo Salar.—On April 20 the fry hatched from the Kaikoura shipment (Mr Farr's lot), numbering over 3,000, were transferred from Opoho to Marshal] Creek, where they have been doing well, and should be ready for liberating in May or June. We propose allowing all of these (except 100) to escape into Marshall Creek during a fresh, when the probability is that moat of them will go straight to sea. The remaining 100 we propose to keep in confinement permanently, as an experiment towards the development of a land-locked salmon'in New Zealand. Another lot of ova per s.s. lonic was handed to us by the Government in March. From these we obtained about 9,000 healthy fry, which will in due course be liberated.

Salmo Levenensis.—On March 31st 260 Loch Leven trout were transferred from Opoho to the new pond at Marshall Creek. Although the fish were large—many Bin and 9in longnone died in transit, but two were accidentally killed, and one escaped into the Kuriwao while the water was being renewed. They at once took kindly to their new quarters, and they have grown and thriven remarkably well. It is one of the sights of the place to see them at feeding time dart like flashes of light at their food. From these about 7,000 ova were obtained ; but as the parent fish were immature a great number of the fry died iust after hatching out, but about 1,600 healthy young fish were obtained. Mr Burt also impregnated the eggs of a common trout wrth the milt from a Loch Leven, and obtained a number of very strong hybrids. Next season, the fish being more mature, we may faiily expect to get between 60,000 and 70,000 ova. Salmo Fontinalis.—This beautiful fish has done well during the past year. In last report we had to chronicle the loss of almost the whole of the fry kindly presented by the Christchurch Society, only about twenty out of the 400 surviving the change of water. But from the survivors, and the small number previously got from Mr Johnson, of Opawa, we have got over 4,000 strong and healthy fry, which are now tix months old and thriving splendidly. Scotch Burn Trout.—Of the 400 burn trout reported last year we have 313 left. These were also transferred to Marshall Creek ponds, where they are growing well. Ve expect to get a fair number of eggs from them next season.

Salmo Fario.—Owing to the occurrence of floods in the most of the riyers at the beginning of spawning time, we did not get such a largu number of eggs as we could have wished; still a large number was collected. Mr Deans got 171,000 49,000 from Lovells Creek. Mr Burt got about 90,000—26,000 from the Wairuna, and between GO.OOO and 70,000 through the kindness of the Lakes Society. This giveß about 260,000 as the season's collection. Of these, about 120,000 have already been distributed and sent to other societies, leaving still 140,000 to be sent out. In addition to the number of fry distributed from the hatching houses, thero are evidences that the natural increase in the various rivers has been very good, large numbers of young fish having been seen in nearly all the Southern streams. Still the rivers are not stocked to anythjng like their carrying capacity. The Council have still to contend against poaelring; but one or two salutary lessons have been givon which may act as a deterrrent in the future. They still invite the cooperation of anglers, landholders, and all interested in acclimatisation to aid us in putting a stop to all illegal methods of destroying fish. So far the angling season has been fairly good, the favorite streams yielding good baskets to the wieldcrs of the rod, and giving evidence of the continued success of the Society's efforts towards stocking the waters. The increasing number of licenses issued shows also that the health-giving recreation of angling is fast becoming a national sport. Mr Thornton has experienced great difficulty an getting the necessary returns from fishermen, but he has advised by the Government that they ar.o collecting information on the same lines and that duplicates of the returns will bu forwarded to him. lie will thus gradually bo put in possession of data on which to found a natural history of our indigenous Koafi-h.