THE QUINNAT SALMON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22776, 11 January 1936, Page 3

THE QUINNAT SALMON

ITS LIFE HABITS Major C. A. Whitney, of Auckland, has, in view of the approach of the season for quinnat salmon, contributed some notes concerning the life habits of this fish, both on the Pacific Coast of North America and New Zealand. Dr Charles Frederick Holder, LL.D., says in his book that “ the qinnat travels up the Yukon to Lake Bennet, a distance of 2250 miles from the mouth of the river to spawn. These fish weigh from 101 bto 1001 b. The great Chinnook spawn at the head of the rivers. Fishes of many sizes are seen in the rivers at the same time, and in the Fraser River in the fall. The average weight in the Columbia River is 221 b, and fish 601 b to 801 b and 1001 b are taken. It is believed that the very large salmon are those individuals which for some reason have failed to spawn and have in some wav avoided the fate of all spawning fish, which is death. It is quite possible that these large fish would find it heavy going against the swat current of these rivers and that _ they spawned in the shallows and rapids a few miles up from the sea and then returned to the gea to recuperate. In the early days in Alaska the quinnat frequently filled the rivers in places in an almost solid mass, and at certain falls the bears congregate to catch the salmon that missed the jump and fell out upon the rocks. On entering the rivers it is supposed the fish do not feed, but I have seen quinnat salmon chasing small fry in the Feather of the Big Meadows, a long distance from the sea.” Mr J. Scott Main, in his book on qumnat in New Zealand, says the salmon do not all die in the Canterbury River. In the Orari River (1929) salmon could be seen in almost any pool from the tidal waters five miles up and in the Opihi; they were in all the pools for 30 miles up, besides being in their tributaries, the Temuka, Waihi and Tangiwai Rivers. It requires no effort to ascend these waters, apd just as little to get back to the sea. “ Cases of quinnat have been found with food in their stomachs; one caught in February, 1924, of 2Glb, had a six-inch mullet in its stomach. The mullet was in the first stage of digestion and therefore • could not be disgorged. That same year two more quinnat were caught in the top waters of the river, inside the mouth, with smelts in their stomachs.” Again, he says, “ Quinnat have been found feeding 70 miles from the sea; it is supposed that these salmon came in with the smelts feeding on them all the way in from the sea and on up the river.” Major Whitney writes: “ Within the last seven years I have met a number of anglers on the Canterbury rivers who have opened many quinnat directly they were caught, and found herring, silveries and smelts in the stomach, most of which were in the first stage of digestion and could not be disgorged; many, if not all, fish caught and opened are found with digested juices in the lower part of the stomach, near the vent, and many of those that had taken the spoon or minnow, the triangle hook and mounting were found well down in the gullet, showing that the fish did its best to swallow the spoon or minnow as food. Last year I met two anglers, mates, on the Rakaia, who had found three or four herring in each of the quinnat they opened, showing hardly any signs of digestion. Last season another angler showed me a smelt about 9in long which he had found in the stomach of a 201 b quinnat just landed by him. Three anglers who had been fishing the Hurunui were lying on the bank 50 or 60 feet above the river at the mouth. One was by himself, and the others were mates. The river was too calm to fish. They saw the quinnat chasing the herring, just like a school of kahawai, and they seldom missed catching the herring. Where there were several quinnat on the chase the herrings had less chance of escape than when only one was after them. A single quinnat would often have a long chase along the surface of, the water,* nearly half of its body being out of the water in the effort to secure one or more herring. Where the herring were numerous a quinnat would catch one or two at a time, but generally one would escape. One angler told me when landifig a large quinnat, a big herring dropped out of its mouth on the shingle. The herring was dead, but there was no sign of digestion having started. A very small percentage of quinnat' is opened when caught. I did not open 25 per cent, of the quinnat I have caught, but those I have opened invariably contained digested juices in the lower part of the stomach, which is positive proof the fish opened had been feeding in fresh water. All food which passes out through the vent of salmon, or any other fish, is in the form of digested juices—in some thin and in others thick. To satisfy the friend who was with me at Rakaia iast season, 1 opened a large quinnat and cut off a part of the stomach close to the gullet. On examination he jumped to the conclusion that the stomach was restricted, until I pointed out that the stomach was in corrugations or creases, which closed and expanded according to the food taken. Closing my fist, I pushed it through quite easily, and then a stone, double the size of my fist, was pushed through quite easily. It is these rubberlike creases that enable the fish to disgorge food that is not too far digested or that has not passed too far down the stomach. Although I have not opened a auinnat that contained fish in its stomach, I have watched them many times chasing herrings, silveries and trout. It could be seen clearly when the quinnat were close to one that some herrings were caught and eaten, whilst others escaped, probably due to the quinnat trying to take several herrings into their mouth at a time.

“ Whenever the herrings were in,” Major Whitney says, “ I would like to have used them as bait, mounted on a single hook with a slight kink in the body, to make the herring spin, but so much time is wasted in catching herring, that I have stuck to the aluminium minnow from 2fin in length down to in length. I found on the Shannon in Ireland and on the Wye in England that with discoloured water, a large minnow wag required, but as the water cleared the size had to be reduced till, in ginclear water, a IJin minnow had to be used if one wanted to hook an Atlantic salmon. In America on the Pacific coast the rivers are 2000 miles long and more, and it is quite reasonable to expect that a large number of. fish die after spawning, especially in snow-fed rivers where it would not be likely there was any food to make them into ‘ wellmended kelts.’ I have heard of no reason why some quinnat should not go back to the sea after spawning, especi-

ally those that spawn within seven or eight miles of the sea, and are large fish between 30lb and 601 b or over. Even Mr Hutton, the salmon expert in England, considers many of the very large salmon have been to sea twice, or even three times. In the Canterbury rivers I have seen several black quinnat going back to the sea, and in a fairly ‘ well mended' condition. One was a monster which I judged was well over 80lb. It passed within a few yards of me; it was the only one I saw moving downstream head first; it must be evident to the careful observer that* quite a number of large quinnat go back to sea after spawning. Otherwise how could they put on their great weight in a few years’ sojourn in the sea?

“A large number of the small quinnat from 31b up to 91b, which are in the rivers for spawning purposes, return to the sea, but it is nearly impossible to say how many of those between 71b and 91b have been up to spawn, and whether it is the first or second time of entering fresh water. I am inclined to think quite a few are up for the second spawning. The scale reader may suggest that the scales of every fish should show how many times it had spawned and returned to sea, but there is so much variation in individual scale reading that in many fish their life history is hidden in mystery. To overcome this, the scales ot a large number of fish caught in the same river, in the same pool, and at the same time of the year, are taken by experts in scale reading, and a general average of these is taken to be the life history of any one fish of those taken. This may give a theoretical idea of its life history, but to my mind is of little value in practice. " I have always found the fishing at the outlet of the Rakaia best when a number of fairly, shallow branches enter the main lagoon or river that run parallel with the shore for two miles or more in a northerly direction before entering the sea. These shallow branches will not allow the quinnat to pass up the river, and in consequence they spend their time chasing herring, smelts, silveries, etc., in the two or three miles of lagoon river. The hunting of the small fish not only affords an ample supply of food, but the exercise matures the ova as quickly as if the fish were working upstream to whore they intend to spawn. When the ova is nearly ripe and the fish still unable to pass up the branches of the river they start making redds in the shingle in fairly rapid water in the lagoons. During several seasons there were quite a number of redds, and it can be safely conjectured that where these redds were the quinnat used them for the deposit of the ova. Probably the herring and small fish consumed a fair quantity of the ova, but it is more than likely that at least 5 per cent, matured and went out to sea at a very early age of their parr life, and it is more than probable that the small quinnat running into the, rivers are these parr which have escaped the predatory fish hunting along the sea beaches.”