OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1912, 13 July 1888, Page 13

OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the Otago Acclimatisation Society was held on Friday afternoon in the Land Board' office ( Mr J. P. Maitland (chairman) presided, and Mr J, Wilkie (hon. secretary) and Mr A. C, Begg (hon. treasurer) were on the platform. There was a large attendance of members.

ANNtTAt REPORT* During the past year the Work of the society in the domain ot pisfculture has gone on steadily, although quietly. Several new ponds and races have been made at the Clinton hatchery, anil teveral conveniences introduced to facilitate the work of propagation. The most important work of the past »ea son has been in connection with the English salmon ova imported by the Government.

English Salmon.— During the month of March 1888, 21£ boxes of salmon ova— being parts of three shipments by theKaikoura, Doric, and Tongariro - were allotted to us by the Government. These ova were obtained from the Tweed, Forth, and Tay. and had been packed with great care by Sir James Maitland. From Wellington they were sent down, with a plentiful supply of ice. Under the care of Lieutenant Smith, who delivered 10 boxes at the Dunedin stntion for the Opoho hatchery, and 12 boxes at Clinton for the Marshall's creek establishment. On opening the boxes there were estimated to be about 20,000 eggs in each box, making the total number about 430,000. As each box was opened a note was taken of the percentage of good eggs, and the average yield was about 63 per cent., or a total of about 270,000fiuehealthyegg8. Theeggs in thebottom layers were those which had suffered most, as if the weight of the layers above them has proved rather much for their vitality. In between two and three weeka the eggs began to hatch out, and the young fish were exceptionally strong and lively, and they continued to grow and thrive well during the time we had them in confinement. After correspondence with the Government and the Southland Society, it was decided to liberate the major portion in the Aparima. On September 17, October 8, November 5 and 19, when the fry were about six months old, Messri Deans and Burt took them to Moss.bnrn. whence they were taken on to the upper waters of the Aparima— Messrs A. N. Campbell, of the Southland Society, and Mr Ba^sMan. of Dunrobin station, lending serviceable aid in pointing out the best portions of the river, and in distributing the fry. In the four trips 98,001 were turned out. Mr Deans sm<\ Ranger Burt both report very highly of the suitability of the Aparima for the salmon ; and as the Southland Society have turned out about 60.000 in the same neighbourhood, we trust that at last the acclimatisation of the salmon may pro\e to have been accomplished. Some of the previous lot— Mr Farr's shipment — which have been retained in confinement at Marshall's creek, show signs of producing ova this season. Reports frequently reach us of the capture of the veritaMe Salmo satar, and several specimens have been shown to ns as Buoh. We have been sho«-n one or two beautiful fish captured in the harbour, but notwithstanding our anxiety to make them out salmon, we were unable to confer this dignity upon them. One specimen was sent from Timaru Harbour to Professor Parker for examination, and this, after caref >l comparison with specimens in the Mn«enm, was thought to be a Salmo trutta, or genuine sea trout J.ast Oc'ober Mr Rutherford, of Wellington, very kindly sent us a consignment of 55 l<hine salmon and 30 Bhine trout (Trutta lactcstris carpione) ; and tbe«e, with the exception of one of the salmon, whioh died, we nave at Opoho. Mr Rutherford wishes us to keep these, especially th* latter, in close confinement, as he thinks the trout may prove to be the great lake trout (a fialmonoid shark), which attains a weight of from 501b to 1001b, and would prove a very undesirable addition to our sahnonidaj.

Loch Leven Trout.— Next in importance to the salmon experiment should be mentioned the success which has attended our efforts with the Loch Leven trout. The stock or stud fish, numbering about 250. are now four years old, and last winter produced about 50,000 healthy ova. Of the.se 3000 were sent to the North Island. The remainder were hatched out, and in due cour-e the fry distributed in some of our best waters. The parent fish are still in confinement at Marshall's creek, and show no falling off either in condition or activity, and should this winter produce a still greater number of eggs -probably over 90,000. In addition to the old fish, we have about 400 year-olds, from which in time we shall get an additional supply of ova. Scotch Burn Trout.— We have about 250 of these sprightly fish now three years olds. These, as well as the Loch Levens, are under the care of Ranger Burt, and are thriving well. Last season, as they were immature, we only got some 800 eggs, from which 700 fry were hatched out. These were divided between the. top waters of the Kaihiku and Wialwera. This season, as th<» fiah have reached better maturity, we may expect over 10.000 eggs. Brook Trout.— We have at Opoho 34 three-year-old and 120 one-year-old brook trout. These fish almost appear to take more kindly to confinement than any of the others we have in our ponds, and are, so far as appearance goes, the most handsome species we have. They are very shapely, and both body and fin markings are of a most brilliant character. The 34 three-year-olds yielded about 18.000 ova. from which some 17.0P0 fry have been distributed in various streams within easy distance of Dunedin, besides 1700 year-old fry of the previous season's hatching. In a year or two we doubt not these fish will often lend variety and brilliance to the basket of the angler. Brown Trout.— The heaviest part of our work is. of course, the maintaining a supply of brown trout for stocking our waters. Although our rivers, from one end of our dist.rici to the other, are now fairly well stocked, yet they require yearly attention to keep up and increase the supply. We have devoted special attention naturally to such streams as are

most heavily fehdaj'aria-td'thbs^wbifeh «r« deficient in spawning becfi, -whpih other fespoctefttowrable to the growth of the flsb/ Sibce t§ 6 o £Mnrt*»«l 1887 wl have liberated uptfdrda' df , 333,000 joVttijS fish. Last winter the weather wife ver? adverse to our harvest. During tHe whole of tht spawning season the rivers in our owU district were more or less in a state of 'flood, and consequently we had great difficulty In getting a supply of ova. But the Lake's Stfclety kindly gave us every facility for cof leciiflg ovd from Lake Wakatipu, and during the months of August and September Messrs Deans and BuVt made tswd'tfl#f,<si6fftHng over 220.000 eggs. Mr Davidson", curator of the Lakes 1 Society, rendered our officers most valuble' assistance. Besides providing a 1 ttoat 'and nets' he had a ntfmDer of fish caught; and on t*iiSi sdconii" visit he hatffclwrflsh caught and everyth'irg ready foi- stripping, scfebat they were only detained a few hour's in Queenstcrrttf. Special thanks are due for this Kindly, aid. From some cause or other, however, the Lri»o ova. art not a success with us . About one-half of the e£#s l£s> v ed bad, a great mortality also taking place amongst the alevins. Whether this is the result of the long raiVway journey, or of the condition of the hsh in the lake, it ie ,difficult>' to ascertain ; perhaps both contribute to the result, but we are inclined to think that the Lake" fiah, Hot having proper facilities for depositing" their ova/ retain it in the sac, where it perishes, and defrtim'efitaily aflectsthe new ova. We a& informed that in matfy, nwtsnees when the ova have been stripped from the fish the : prervimu year s ova also crime away, withered aria Bfirii-'aned up. However this.mriy Be, tjtie percentage of death's in the Lakes ova is Very much large* than fti &nf ova procured from our own sweams.-and y/e understand that our experience in this respect is not singular. This, however, in no way diminishes' onr indebtedto the Lake* Society for allowing us to obtain the the ova. The demand from other softieties for ova lias not been so great as in previotw yearfl. This, of course, is but natural. As the rivefa throughout the colony become better stocked, there is less need to purchase ova from us. The sales have be.en 12.600 brown tro"t, 3000 Loch Levens, and 2(200 brook firotifc, most of these going to the North Island. A small ht at brown and brook trout ova werfi pwrcnaseci for" at ge'nfiletaAn in New South Wales, affo we are informed they reached their destination in good condition, keW hatched out well.

White Fish (Corregonus dUiaj. —O'a February 81,8 1 ,- at Clinton, we took delivery ot a tray of white fish ova. These had been imported by the Government from America, and sent from Wellington under the care of Lieutenant Smith. When the tray was unpacked, most of the egsjs were found to be bunched together in masses, and this rather damped expectations as to their vitality. The eggs were placed in the hatching boxes in the usual way, and the temperature of the water reducer! by ice, and in ab'^ut. 21 hd'irs the eggs began to hatch out rapidly, but about two-thirds proved bad. For a time the young fry swam rtboflt and appeared Very lively, but by-and-bye began to" die so fast that wicri f,ne hope of saving some, the' remainder, estimated at IttKMt 1000. were turned into the large circular pond. Nothing was feen of them for stfirfe irto'nths. when Mr Burt succeeded in catching one" which measured abouc'l^in in length. It was returned to the pond, and after some time, a deatl one was foUnd. Mr Burt reports having seen another of about the. same size ; but although repeated attempts have been made to ascertain wliet Her there were any others in the pond these prnvd unsuocensfnl, and we fear the experiment mny be looked upon ffo.a failure. Mr Deans brought 200 or 300 egga to Opoho, where they hatched out well, but af >er a little, while a considerable number died, and the rest mysteriously disappeared.

FISHING SBASOtf.

The past fishing season has been one of the worst experienced for several years. The weather all through was very uncertain, and in the opening porMnn e°peciallywaß very uninviting. Inconsequence, anglers were not so frequently on the ntream° as in their wont. Nevertheless, by some of those who did go some good baskets were made, and some heavy fiah captured. The best two fish we have heard of were taken in the. Molyneux. holow Kaifcangata— ofle by Mr James Willocks. weighing 2llb, and one by his brother, weighing 17lh. The" fly fishing competition f t the society's medals took place oft the Waipahi on the Bth and flth of December. Mr William Fra7er, of Lovell's Flat, again won the gold medal, with 19 fish weighing 15£lb; and Mr William Pacey. of Clinton, took the second with two fish weighing 141b. Although thenumber of fish captured during the season whs much below the average, this is not to be attributed to any falling off in our streams, but to the before-me.ntioned unseasonable weather. The number of fish yearly distributed, together with the natural increase, appears to cope fairlywell with 'h* 1 demands made on our streams by legitimate angling and natural enemies : but in addition to the.«e we have to contend against sovere poaching, which under our present act we are unable to deal with as we should like. Wo trust that the new Fisheries Rill under contemplation by the Lej>i«lature will nut. us in a better position to protect our streams f>om this, one of their greatest scourges. The number of rod licenses issued for the season was 442 men's and 63 boy 6', and three net licenses, yielding £482 10s.

DEEP SEA FISHERIES.

Mr Thomson, who still kindly takes charge of the observations in this department of our work, makes the. following report :—

" Returns of Deep Sea Fisheries. — The results of this attempt to accumulate information regarding our sea fish are somewhat discouraging as far as the work of voluntary ob*«rvers i« concerned. Tin Me Cactain Wayward, whose nntime'y death is still fresh 'n our memories, eontribnfced for many vea^s * record of the, fish taken at or near Catlin'p. rivetMr W. Sutherland, of Milfyra" Sound, continues to forward the returns of his nhserva'ions, wh'ch now extend over many years. T have also enlisted th» assistance of another excellent observer, in Mr J. X Brecon, of Waipapapa Point lighthouse. Lnst seaeon I asked the Government to assist me in this work, hv furnishing the mun"" of all chief liehtUeepers in the cnlonv. T)ic Marino department* howev-r, went further, and itself issued forms to a'l lightkeepers to be filled in monthly by them. Duplicates of all such returns are regularly forwarded to me. Tho-'eh many of these are nece'sarily kept in a very perfunctory manner, yet some of the officers take an active, interest in 'ho matter, and in time, these returns when summarised may he expected to yield good results. In Mr fi Wilson, nnder-secretnrv fo-- the Marine, department, the Government enjoy the services of a gentleman vUio possesses a good knowledge of, and takes a crr^at interest, in. our sea fisheries. an<l T would here express mv obligation* to him for his valuable assist ance — Geo. M. Thomson."

AMMALS AFD BIRDS.

With the report of our operations in the department of fish culture, the record of our work virtually ceases. Outside this we have done nothing during tbepaat year, for reasons whic'i ifc is necdlfs* to "recapitulate. But notwithstanding this, the D-evious ffforts of the society in one direction at least appear to be bearing plentiful fruit. The herds of deer in the various districts appear to be increasing rapidly. "Reports from Tapanui, Palmerston, and Morven Hills combine in bearing testimony to this ; and requests for permission to " shoot a stag " are now becoming so numerous that It is almost worth consideration hither we should not issu« a limited number of permits at a pretty hitjh fe° as h means of raisin? our re,venue a little.' The Japanese deer presented to the society by Mr Bathgate, and whicli were turned out at Otekaike, are also thriving — the original liftle herd of thre« having now in'reasrn* to seven. Of the imported game birds we have heard nothing whatever, bub numbers of the robins recently libcr>red at West Taieri are frequently seen, and the British song birds nre multiplying rajvrllv. Wf> have to thank Mr G-. H. Ashcfoft for the gift, of three, braoe'of Oaliforn'an quail, which we hnv» liberated in the bush at our Clinton properly. Mr Burt frequently sees these, and thov appear to be doing well. Tn Mnrch last, Mr Begg, when visiting the North Island, arranged to have a number of frogs sent from Napier. We received about «"> f-ogsand tadtW»s. which were sent out to Marshall's creek, and liberated in a small marsh close to fh« pond=. Se.veral were s^en nbout for a few days, and then all di^anreared Mr Thompson reports a private experiment mad* h" him as having a like result. ; ro it woul' 1 apppar that our climate is unsuitable for these animals, which, we are informed, are really Australian frogs.

PERSONAL.

We have again to record our thanks to the undermentioned for the assistance rendered and the facilities they have given ns in carrying on our work and for th« interest manifested on our behalf :— Sir Tames Maitlnnd. New Zealand Government, Union Steam Ship Company. New Zealand Shipping Company, Refrigerating Company, Railway department, Messrs Orhell and HwWef- (of Waiknuaiii), Macken* 7ic (of Ontrnm,\ Nolgon (of Lovell's Flat), Tames Campbell. Walter steel. A. Simpson, 0. V. Welch. J. Skennan. — Sutherland. W. Black. Sergeant Oonrt (Palmerston) and Constables Miller aV>d Walker, Messrs Deans. Burt, and Keilly, and Mr

Carlton, who has during the season assisted greatly in the distribution of theroung fry.- , James yfxixss, Hon. Secretary-..

BEPOBTS.

' !Ibff fiaance report showed in tha receipts a bank 'balau<« of £112 los 7d; subscripcionSr £37 10s tfd y i licenses, $fc#2o.6d ; and£79lssdfrom other sources. I The expenditose included a number of items, and ehowed a bank balance of £211 7s Bd. Thß jrtatemenfe ofaagetteatid liabilities showed assets araoutfMng to. £1933 113 7d and no liabilities. Mr BEtfO' complimented the society,: i thejr eoxjnd financial posiCt^W/ The Chairman 1 »»id, as would he observed fnnr the -report, that tha reception, hatching, and maiutenanoe of JSnglish safraon ova, imported by the Government, had entailed a considerabia responsibility and a very large excess of work upon thecouncil and upon tha officers of the society. Members might, well believe that both the council andl ! officers' ted left no stone unturned to bring the- ' whole mnUter to as successful an isstoe ■as posi Bible. He' thought they must congratulate* /themselves' that tbo results were very fnirly tJatisfactorv, 98,000 healthy young salmon Laving; been" deposited iv the- Upper Aparima. They Iwwt reason To believe thaU the experiment of tne introduction of salmon iiss* been launched with much greater promise of snecess than on any previous occasion. He believed the quanflity of salmon placed by the Southland society iv the same river amounted to 60.000 o(&. Tiiia society alro placed over 40.000 in the Waiwerrf in order to fi.'st at what!; stage' it was best to put sahnod fry into rivers. i While those placed in the Aparima wfir«pnt in when I three o-- four mouths old. these m )toa W.-uwera wese, 1 froiri One year old, and some f r<>m oue to two years, old tf*» Mention of such a number oJ fis.h for one or two years' irf th« sooiet f 's ponds aC Clinton entiiled a great deal ot attention and labour. In conatfctjon 1 with the year's work it was also n matter ot great, satisfaction to recortf Che large additions to trtoirnuraHar of Loch Loren trout. Last season ttaey placed ovm 3000 of the<e in the rivers, and this sca»sod already tbev had about 130\000 ova in the boxes for hatching. U was well known that it was thefinest description o\' Iske trout in Scotland, shewing points of the very finest breeding. It was a matter of great satisfaction to think that they had now thoroughly introduced this variety into their streams and lakes, Scotch btrrn trout were also rtfOidly increasinu, and they wotild observe ihnt they expected to have 10,000 ova to lay ,down thitf season. This fish, along with the. ; Loch Leven firotrt, wa9 ft * cry great i approvement tor their creeks artd lot their fishing iivere, nt well »s I affording a variety to fishermen. The AMW'PJin. troUt, w*s found tb'besrery hard and eaMly reare n fish, besides being a very pretty fish. They were ssid to afford excellent sport to angler?, and woi'uu also add an agre-able variety to the basket The income of the society was almost entirely derivedfrom subscriptions and from" fishing license 1 feevnna as they wonld have almost greater calls on their purses this year, it was incumbent upon them to- Jeaye ho stone unturned to increase these sources of incomeIn order to keep up an increased number of their fishing licenses, it would bo necessary" for them never to relax their effortß towards keeping up the Btook of fish in the tivers. There was a great wanC of gravel for spawning in many of the rivers. He wa* glad to inform the meeting that already this season they had bectn very swccfssfnl in obtaining ovh, and they hoped before the end of the season to have a plentiful supp'y fiir every river in tlw province. They would be. sorfv to observe that the introduction of white fish had again been a failure. They had hoped that they were in possession of two or three of this valuable species, but he was sorry" to say that the latest investigation showed that there were .none alive, and so the experiment might be looked on as a failure. In consequence of having to make Jar-jo arrangements for the reception' and maintenance of 'he salmon ova imported by theGovernment, the society were put to a oonsiderab'o extra expense in en.l<»rg'i"K the hatching house ab Clinton." and adding to the races, and also in providiog food for fish, and extra labour being required for that purpose. The society were hopirg tfnb they might receive from the Government a vote to caver that. Mr Bkg« seconded the adoption of the report. The motion wa« agreed to

ELECTION OF OFFICERS,

Mr A. Chisholm moved— "That the chairmrau retain tfie office tor another year." Mr P. C. tfuXLi. seconded the motion, which was carried unarm moußlv. Mr Begg was reapflointed vice-chairman and tresuror. A letter was read from Mr Wilkie asking tha* he might retire, Mr BEGff said Mr Wilkie had devoted time and attention to the secretaryship, and a vote of thanksi should be passed to Mr Wilkie for the services hehad rendered to the society.— (Applause,) He would! propose a name that would recommend it to the-meetings-Mr James Edgar. Mr Cablton seconded the motion, and ifc was adopted. . Mr Ohirholm complimented the manager and! tho rangers for tho way they performed their dutiflft during the last year. They went to great trouble and fomstimes to considerable inconvenience in the interests of tho society.

Mr Dkans acknowledged the compliment. •The following committee was appointed :— Messrs Thomas Brvdone. J?. Campbell. W. Carlton, F. R. Chapman. R. Chisholm, J. B. Daneon, P. O. Neil, O. J. Spence, W. O. Smith. P. F. Stoddart, G. W. Thomson N. Y. A. Wales, D. gtronaeh, G. Marshall, and J. Wilkie. The Country Oofflitfittee was re-appointed with the additions of Mr Thos Mackenzie M.H R.. Mr Scobie Mackenzie, M.H.R., and Mr C. Anderson, M.H.K.