SALMON IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19761, 12 April 1926, Page 5

SALMON IN NEW ZEALAND.

ENGLISH ANGLER’S SUG-GEST-ONS.

SIR FRANCIS WEMYSS INTERVIEWED. (F.uoji Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, April 9. Among the passengers who sailed in the Athenic for London was Sir Francis Colchester-Wcniyss, who since December last has spent most of his time in the Dominion fishing for salmon and trout Sir Francis is an expert and enthusiastic angler and a prominent member and excharman of the F.L.S. Fishers’ Club, London. Before leaving Wellington he was good enough to accord voiir renresentative an interview in which he made some interesting remarks on the acclimatisation of salmon in New Zealand. Sir Francis fished both in the South and the North Island rivers and lakes. He has been a salmon fisher for many years in England, Scotland and Norway, and wa. especially interested in the acclimatisation of Atlantic salmon in New Zealand and made a special pilgrimage to the Te Anau district to see the results that have been achieved, results, he says, that are disappointing. There is no doubt whatever in his mind that the Te Anan fish are the true Atlantic salmon. The disappointing feature of the experiment is their small size, and without dogmatising on the point he believes the reason to be that they do not feed in the sea sdo the Atlantic salmon. In the Mother Country the salmon that run up the rivers do not feed in fresh water, but there is indubit able proof that the Atlantic salmon feed in the lakes and rivers in New Zealand All the fish that he caught and examined had green beetles or other fresh water food in their stomachs. Sir Francis examined also the scales of a number of Te Anau salmon and found that there was no difference indicated between their winter and summer feeding. In the Atlantic salmon in their native habitat the scale-reading showed a marked difference in this respect. The summer fish that he caught at the Te Anau outlet were full of undigested food, an unheard of state in British rivers. The only conclusion he could come to the"efore was that these salmon feed in fresh water and feed practically all the yeai round It is, he says, quite possible that some go down to the sea at the mouth of the Waiau, but do not stay long enough in the sea to gel the rich feeding that tends to a great increase in size. In the British Isles and Norway, the salmon, obeying a hereditary instinct dating back for thou saiid of years, look for a current that takes them to their sea feeding grounds, and as a general rule they come back to the river in which they were born in from two to four years. Apparently the Atlantic salmon from the Waiau. when thy go down to the sea, do not find this current which their hereditary instinct makes them seek, and so come back up the Waiau feeding as they run to the lakes. If this idea is correct it would account for the evenness of the scale markings and the limited growth of the fish, which resemble grilse. Sir Francis is decidedly of the opinion that it would have been belter had we, in New Zealand, confined our attention to the acclimatisation of the Atlantic salmon which is both a better sporting fish and a better food fish than the quinnat. In reference to the recent comments of the American experts who visited New Zealand and expressed the opinion that it would be well not to catch any quinnat for years to come, Sir Francis says that this might apply to netting, by means of which large numbers would be taken, but not to fishing with rod and line, which would make practically no difference to the yearly run. In regard to the fact that quinnat have grown to such a large size, Sir Francis explained that the quinnat feeds closer inshore and does not, like the Atlantic species, go s long way out to sea. In regard to future experiments Sir Francis expressed the opinion that it would be advisable not U stock other New Zealand rivers with (ry from Te Anan, but to import ova from some of the British rivers, such as the Wye. in which there is a yearly run of heavy fish In the Wye the average of the spring-run fish is sometimes as high as 201 b, and the summerrun as high as 171 b, whereas in the neighbouring river, the Usk. the average is a great deal lower. It is just as important to breed fish as it is cattle or horses from the best stock. So far it seems there is no accounting for the great difference in tiie size of the fish that run up different British rivers. TROUT FISHING. In regard to our trout fishing, Sir Francis savs it is better than any such fishing he had obtained in other countries, but it was not so good as he had been led to expect The season, however, has been a poor one, especially in the 1 aupo and Rotorua districts. During the whole of March the fishing, both at Lake laupo and in the Tongariro River at Tokaanu, has been poor in comparison with what it has been Probably there will be a better run of fish in April and May.