ORIGIN OF WHITEBAIT.

Waikato Times, Volume 101, Issue 16947, 9 November 1926, Page 10

ORIGIN OF WHITEBAIT.

STUDY OF SPECIES. FISHERIES EXPERT VISITS FOXTON. Mr A. E. Jlefford, fisheries expert of the Marine Department, visited Foxton Jast week, and, in company with Constable Owen, local inspector of tishcries, made an inspection of the Manawatu river and beach. Mr Hefford, who is one of the foremost fisheries authorities of Great olßritain, and who has recently been appointed as fisheries expert to ihe Marine Department by the New Zealand Government, is engaged in studying the whole of the fisheries of the Dominion in every detail. The object of his visit to Foxton was to study local conditions in connection with whitebait. Last week Mr Hefford visited the West Coast on a similar mission and inspected the Hokitika river and other streams on that coast. Conditions there, he informed a Manawatu Standard representative, were entirely different from those obtaining here as were the regulations governing the netting of the fish. Origin of Whitebait. Questioned as to the origin of the whitebait Air Hefford said that a good deal of mystery stiil surrounded the origin of the whitebait, or inauga (Gaiaxias attenualus). It was not definitely known where the whitebait spawned and what happened to the fry after leaving the egg. At Ilokitika, said Mr Hefford, the fishermen considered the adult female whitebait, or inanga, found its way down stream in the months of February and March—mostly March- —• and deposited its eggs on the reeds of the mudflats at the mouths of the rivers, where the eggs were hatched and from whence the whitebait, after living for a period in salt wlaer made their way up stream again. It was possible that this was the case, hut Mr Hefford would not express himself as to the correctness or otherwise of the theory. Mr Phillips, of the Dominion Museum, Wellington, he said, had secured samples of the eggs of the whitebait and had found that they sank in water. If this were correct, it would go to prove that the whitebait did not belong to the class of fish which produced floating eggs, which is the case with most sea fish. On the other hand, however, it was not known whether comparative tests had been carried out with salt and fresh water. An egg that would sink in fresh water might easily float in salt water. There were several species of small fish known which produced eggs which stick to \he bottom. Local Theory. The theory held locally was to the effect that the .whitebait on this coast found their way up the rivers and creeks and spawned in the lakes. The local Maoris held this view. It was a debatable point, however, and one that required investigating before a definite conclusion could be formed. He hoped to be able to give the matter his consideration and to investigate the origin of the whitebait fully in the near future.

One thing had been discovered about the little fish, however, and that was that they ultimately turned into what was commonly called the inanga, or, in English, the minnow. Several whitebait that had been kept for observation purposes had, after a period of two years, grown into inangas. Another feature was that the species in which the term "inanga" was applied varied in different localities. Whitebait fishing was one of the foremost branches of the fishing industry in this country and the Marine Department was desirous or giving some attention to it, with a view to developing, or at least preserving this growing industry. There were already three canning factories operating .;n New Zealand —one in Auckland, which handled the whitebait of the Waikato and two on the West Coast. Hence it would be seen that the whitebait industry figured prominently in the fisheries of the Dominion.