THE NEW ZEALAND SEA FISHERIES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 11394, 8 December 1898, Page 1

THE NEW ZEALAND SEA FISHERIES.

| (By Fkank E. Clabke, Few PLYMOUTH)/ (Continued from yesterday.) This property enabling cold-blooded creatures to withstand considerable foodless periods either in a dormant, seundormant or conscious condition (most of our New Zealand lizards, by the way, do not eat from May to September) is paralleled by the well-known hyberna» tive faculty of some quadrupeds (notably the bears), but still more wonderful in the large male seals, which land on the rocks just previous to the rutting and breeding season and remain foodless for months, protecting their harems and the young seals throughout, which seems more amazing in connection with warm-blooded creatures than the reverse.

Thus another problem is added to those already existing as to the nonsuccess of the acclimatisation of the salmon in our waterss. Have the liberated young sufficient of their normal food ia the marine waters to recuperate their bodies sufficiently to produce the instinctive feeling that they are safe in returning to fresh water ? I have been assured by Otago residents that they have seen what they described to be adult salmon in the sea waters, but in this a mistake could readily be made, as the sea-going proclivities of the trout appear to be much more enhanced generally with our New Zealand bred fish of that kind, of which more anon.

Schools of Pacific salmon are seen off the coasts of California, and lately anglers, having found their food, have been using the same as bait, and take them in the open sea with rod and line (see many articles thereupon in Forest and Stream). These Pacifio salmon are described as having ocean feeding habits reserubliDg our lcahawai; therefore one may argue as there is plenty of feed in our water 3 for this fish so there should be for the true salmon.

Some of the other reasons assumed for such apparent non-success are the different temperature of our sea waters from those affected by such fish in tbeir natural habitat. This can be qualified by our knowledge, as before mentioned, that some of our trout, which should not have so much of an inclination according to their alleged ancestry, take but too kindly to ocean going without detriment.

The excessive prevalence ofourpercoid and predatory types of fish (add to this the large quantities of the shark tribes — small and large). This is again discoursed by the qualification at the end of the previous assumption. If the ocean gone trout exist about the months of our estuaries and in the near adjacent ocean subject to such persecution, why should not the true salmon? subject of course to their being of like size and vigor. The gist of the opinions I have advanced for years is that those comparatively few salmon returning to our fresh waters are offered a premium for miscegenation with their non-ooeaa frequenting allies whose vastly larger numbers they find when they do return. And we are actually enabled to be tacitly spectators of the origon again or re-development of the true salmon. This 'is proved by the increasing quantities and differentiation in type of the ocean going trout. Thus we have frequenting those streams or rivers in the South Island, where true salmon . or salmon trout were liberated in units, together with non-ocean frequenting trout in myriads, three' distinct types of salmonoid fish. Ist,' a fish which, is most salmon like of the three, fright silver sides, of greyish brown or brown back, only spotted on the upper sides, well spotted on the fins, but still distinctly a hybrid, and which keeps longer to the estuaries or river mouths. 2nd, a fish less salmon, bat more salmon trpnt like, but also a hybrid, silver sided, but in the remainder colored and marked more like a salmon trout ; and 3rd, in the higher parts of the larger rivers, and in all other streams where they have been introduced, and which are more suitable , for trout " pure and simple," whether v bred originally from Thames, "Itchen, Burn, Brown, Brook, Rainbow, Loch Leven, &c, you have the trout M pare and simple," and also " hybrid," but never tainted with a true salmon or salmon trout strain, none with clear silver sides, all golden and more or less red spotted. When of mixed breed iv such localities yon will find them touched with other non-ocean going strains. Observation further proves this with me since my residence here, as although some of our streams are plentifully supplied with true trout of several varieties, from estuary or mouth upwards, you do not find any with indication of true salmon or salmontroat strain, nor in the sea adjoining have any been captured or taken — - which is to be expected as attention has almost strictly, 1 understand, been given to the introduction of the purer strains of the non-ocean going fish.

It must be remembered that where " salmon " ova have been hatched in New Zealand the resulting fry have been far below the percentage of success as compared with "• trout 07a. This was to be apprehended, as in most instances the natural development of salmon ova had to be retarded or w«s retarded, on account of its method of obtension. And, wheie trout hatching operations, natural or artificial hare been steadily going on year by year, the hatching of the salmon, or salmon trout has been at more or less long intervals, and, though the total number of salmon fry (British or American) hatched all over the colony may seem considerable, they are but a tithe as compared with the artificial Or natural operations of the trout in the same direction , and they have been more scattered in their distribution a3 veil as having a much greater '♦ world" io go into. The true trout's arena is bounded by the banks of its natal strjLgm and tributaries whilst the salmon from I thence has to go to the ocean. Artificial | hatching of both classes. ma^be taken in the' comparison of hundreds of thousands only for the troe salmon as against hundreds of millions of trout varieties. In addition you .have the much greater exposure to danger of the sea going iisb. Conditions actually Want to be reversed to have had successful results, and none I am certain can be 'approximated uuless constant relajg •E ova are, season by season, obtained, hatched and liberated, not io one or a few specified localities, but generally in every large stream suitable. But this last with the strict proviso that those liberated must never be of less age than one year, much better two. A happy issue then may be anticipated if tern* perature of ocean water^ and feed are compatible and these last (as from pr#•vious argument deduced) 1 do not for an inttant doubt. We are not alone ia this difficulty as regards the success of the acclimatisation of the true salmon* [TO BEJ3OHXINUHD], ,