ANGLING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 184, 21 December 1912, Page 7

ANGLING.

A mishap of the most unexpected nature has overtaken the >Mamuvatu Acclimatisation Society's project for the raising of yearling trout from fry placed in the concrete pond at the Esplanade. The affair is of the most mysterious nature, and up to the present no light has been thrown on the probable cause. Thirty thousand fry from the. hatcheries at Jfasterton were placed in the holding pond a month or two ago, and apparently they were thriving excellently, showing the usual signs of growth and development. The remarkable circumstance, whatever it was, that caused their death happened on Tuesday wgnt. About seven o'clock in the evening the curator observed that the water was running steadily and the fish were evidently all well, but next morning the whole thirty thomand wore dead and floating to the surface. Members of the Acclimatisation Society visited the holding pond to inspect the scene of the trouble. The dead fish were skimmed off the water and the concrete basin emptied. The only abnormal feature noticeable about the fry was a swelling or inflammation of the. gills. There was not a live specimen left, and the lot was buried. A sample of the water was taken with the idea of having it analysed. As a theory for the disaster, the only alternative to that of wilful poisoning, which is scarcely credible, is that of suffocation. The value of the fish, apart from the cost of labor and other expenses, is estimated at from £25 to £3o.—Standard.