3

H.—lsa

in this report as showing good trawling-bottom, but with a very poor supply of fish at the time they were prospected, may at another season prove to be prolific fishing-grounds." The desirability of making further experiments is therefore obvious, and the results of those already made are not in this sense discouraging, for out of 122 hauls made at as many different places, gurnard were captured in 104 of them, schnapper in ninety (sometimes in very large numbers), dog-fish in sixtythree (only one or two at a time), lemon-soles in fifty, flounders in forty, soles in thirty-four, crayfish in eighteen, trevalli in fifteen, tarakihi in fourteen, moki in ten, and so on. The experience of this year's cruise was similar to that of last year in one respect—viz., that wherever the coast-line was prospected the best results were obtained in from 5 to 25 fathoms, and there appears to be no exception to this rule, although, of course, fish may be taken in small quantities outside these limits. It will be seen from the appended list of fish taken at the various stations that the most marketable kinds were always the most numerous, and that the variety was quite extensive enough to satisfy ordinary requirements. Appended to this report will be found — (1.) A detailed record of hauls made at each trawling-station. (2.) A list of fish taken, and stations where they were obtained. (3.) Particulars of hauls. (4.) Particulars of the bottom observed at each sounding-station. (5.) A memorandum of temperatures observed in different localities. (6.) A memorandum of distances steamed and towed by the s.s. " Doto " during the trawling expedition. (7.) A memorandum of distances steamed and towed by the s'.s. " Rita." (8.) An interim report by Professor Benham, D.Sc.Lond., M.A., Oxon, F.Z.S., Professor of Biology, Otago University, on the marine biological specimens collected. (9.) Maps showing the position of each trawling- and sounding-station. I have, &c. L. F. Ayson, The Hon. the Minister of Marine, Wellington. Inspector of Factories.

Details op Teawling Expeeiments. The Government having obtained the charter of the s.s. " Doto " from the Nelson Fishing Company for the purpose of experimental trawling, and seeing that she possessed the necessary gear and appliances for this special work, the presence of an extraordinary amount of so-called "slime" in Golden and Tasman Bays, causing wholesale destruction to fish, made it necessary for me to make some inquiries in that direction. I accordingly, acting under instructions from the department, left Nelson at 10.40 a.m. on the 24th January in the " Doto," and steamed up the western side of Tasman Bay, and anchored for the night behind Tata Islands. At 5.30 a.m. on the 25th we ran out into fathoms, and put down the trawl at 6 o'clock. We towed for two hours, and when the trawl was hauled up it contained a few gurnard, schnapper, flounders, and shell-fish, also a large quantity of dead fish. The shell-fish taken up were also dead, and the net was coated with slime. I went ashore at Waitapu to make inquiries, and was informed that in several bays from Separation Point to Collingwood, a distance of about twelve miles, the beach was strewn with dead fish, which were thickest between Tata Bay and Takaka. So numerous were they that residents along the coast had to spend days in burying them to avoid the offensiveness of the decaying quantities. The temperature of the water was 65°, and of the atmosphere 55°. On the 26th January two hauls of the trawl were made off Pepin Island and Whakapuaka Bay. At both hauls the net came up coated with rotten slime, and containing a good many marketable fish and oysters, all in good condition. It was evident that the slime had settled on the bottom, but had not materially affected the fish on the eastern side of Tasman Bay. Any attempt to account for this wholesale destruction would result in nothing more conclusive than mere conjecture, and the main object of my inquiries, therefore, was to ascertain the extent of the destruction and the localities most affected. There is no evidence that the effect was noticed anywhere beyond the limits of Tasman and Golden Bays, although the master of the steamer " Waverley" says that his log collected large quantities of slime on his course from some miles south-west of Farewell Spit to Foxton, and the master of the schooner "Planet " reports having seen large quantities of dead and dying fish some distance off shore in Golden Bay. From thence the " Doto " proceeded to Napier, where I again joined her on the evening of the 3rd February. The master had been ill during the trip, and, having to consult a doctor, we were unable to proceed to Mahia Peninsula, where it was proposed to start trawling, until 9.30 a.m. on the 7th February. A heavy southerly storm and heavy sea was encountered two hours after sailing, and after sheltering a day under Long Point the weather moderated sufficiently to allow the " Doto " to proceed round Portland Island at 6 a.m. on the 9th, and after passing Table Cape got into calmer water. One mile due north of Table Cape the lead showed 8-J- fathoms depth, and a rock bottom. Sounded again at 11 a.m., Table Cape bearing S. by E. and distant about five miles, the lead showing 17 fathoms, and the bottom fine sand. First Haul. —After making the last sounding, steamed a short distance, and shot the net at 11.20 a.m. in 18 fathoms ; bottom, fine sand. Towed two hours N.N.W., and hauled up the net in 22 fathoms off a fine-sand bottom. Result : 7 crayfish, 50 gurnard, 1 John dory, and 7 lemonsoles. As the heavy swell continued, no useful work could be done, and we proceeded to Gisborne.