THE SALMON IN TASMANIA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 839, 30 March 1867, Page 3

THE SALMON IN TASMANIA.

[Frora the ' Press,' March 18.] A piece of news was received lately from Hobart Town which ought not to pass without remark, indicating as it does the successful termination of an interesting, important, and protracted experiment ; we refer to the fact that the young salmon which were turned out of the breeding ponds last year and had proceeded to sea, have made their reappearance in the river they had left. This settles the question whether salmon can live and thrive in these southern waters, and their acclimatization may now be considered an accomplished fact. We heartily congratulate all those who have been concerned in the experiment on a success perhaps all the more welcome for their several previous disappointments. Two or three attempts have been made to convey the salmon ova safely through the long journey of 16,000 miles, but without avail ; though not so hopelessly so as to discourage a repetition of the trial. On one occasion the ova were kept alive for two months, and in spite of defective machinery, unusually rough weather, and other impediments, crossed the tropics, the most fatal parfc of the journey, and perished at last only through a deficiency in the supply of ice. The mistake at thafc time lay in supposing that the conditions under which the ova come to maturity in their natural state — a gravelly site, flowing water of a certain low temperature, and so on — must be imitated by mechanical devices, of a kind difli cult to construct and to manage accurately on board ship ; and Ifc was, if we remember rightly, only by a luc!.; .;..LL;;. that it was discovered that the complicated aud troublesome apparatus first employed might be dispensed with. When ifc was ascertained that tbe embryo would preserve its vitality for a time far longer than is occupied by the voyage to Australia, if simply packed in wet moss and ice, all difficulties as to mode of transport were at an end, and the next consignment reached their destination in tolerable safety. Ofthe quantity last forwarded a large percentage died on the way, but owing, ifc appears, to a want of sufficient care either in packing or selecting them for exportation. Ofthe survivors, the majority did exceedingly well in the ponds provided for their reception, and afc last some were allowed to take their way out to sea. This was the critical point. Would tbe young salmon find sufficient food, and escape the assaults of their numerous enemies, known and unknown ? and would they, in obedience to the mysterious instinct of their kind, find their way back again to the river where they had their birth ? To both these questions the answer is in the affirmative. At the time when in the ordinary course the return of the salmon might be expected they have punctually appeared. The last remaining doubt has thus been set at rest, and the perfect success of the greatest effort of acclimatization ever made is now thoroughly assured. A series of direct importations from England will probably be continued for some time to come, which, with the spawn from the Plenty, will be enough to stock all the rivers in the Australian'colonies suited in temperature and otherwise to become the habitat of this noble fish. Tasmania has the honor of taking the lead in the practical work of acclimatization, but will not long be left to enjoy the sole advantage. As to the rivers of Victoria, the learned in pisciculture inform us that buc very few of them are at all adapted for salmon, but those of Canterbury, ancl we believe still more of Otago, would fulfil all the conditions required. The Canterbury Acclimatization Society has made arrangements for obtaining a quantity of ova as soon as practicable, or if enough cannot be procured from Hobart Town we do nofc see why they should not import a supply for themselves, Otago no doubt would join in the venture, and the expense, so divided, would be inconsiderable to either. However, the breeding ponds of the Plenty, being comparatively so close at hand, are the readiest opportunity, at all events for the first trial. The attempt to naturalize salmon in the rivers of this island will be watched with the greatest interest and we wish the society no less success than their brethren in Tasmania have met with in this crowning feat of acclimatization.