LIFE STORY OF EELS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1926, Page 7

LIFE STORY OF EELS

SCOPE FOR RESEARCH. Having been asked a number of questions about young eels and parasitic thread-like worms which have been found in adult eels and mistaken for young ones, Mr. A. F. Hefford, the Government fisheries expert, had some very interesting remarks to make about the life history of eels found in New Zealand. “The life history of New Zealand eels remains wrapped in mystery,” said Mr. Hefford, “but biological considerations, which cannot very well be expounded here, point to the probability, which is so strong as to be almost a certainty, that spawning takes place somewhere well out in the Pacific Ocean. They certainly do not spawn in fresh water. The glass eels or elvers, winch are seen running tip the rivers in spring and early summer, are not the first stage. Between this stage and the embryo in the egg there must be larval stages which, as has been reiterated ad nauseum, are perfectly well-known in the case of the Atlantic species. They are too small to have travelled so far—that seems to be the stumbling block in the minds of the sceptics. All I can say to that is that there are numerous forms of life in the ocean which are much more mniute and which travel quite as far. The thing to marvel at is not the distance, but the wonderful instinct which guides both parent forms’ and offspring along the right course, though tills can be paralleled in numerous cases—of bird migration for instance. But then, is not all life, in water, on land, in air, full of marvellous manifestations? And the more we study the science of life (biology), the more complete our understanding of its manifold forms and processes, the more we shall find for wonder and admiration in the works of Nature. It is lamentable that so little is known about the natural history of the fauna of New Zealand where'so large a proportion of the people have opportunities for living an outdoor life. “There is very much to be found out, and anyone who will take the trouble to make careful observations can take a part in throwing light on the many problems which remain to be solved. He must first of all make a study of elementary biology so as to get his fundamental ideas correct. He must also train himself to look at things thoroughly and not merely get vague and general impressions and jump to conclusion after a superficial glance.”