H.—ls.

The total quantity of whitebait caught—4,74B cwt. (which is equivalent to about five hundred million individual fishes) —as estimated from the returns, is short of the actual total yield for the season, owing to the omission of catches made on rivers not subject to inspection and of much whitebait that is caught by amateur fishers. The quantity of whitebait canned during the season was 117,000 lb. The total yield is considerably in excess of that shown for the previous season (when, however, there was no return for the Westport district, which this year provided 862 cwt., second only to the Hokitika district in the quantity produced for the 1932 season). The increased total is due practically entirely to the good runs of whitebait which took place throughout the whole of the West Coast (South Island) district. The advantage to the many people who were depending on whitebait-fishing for a living was, however, discounted by a considerable drop in prices. The canneries also limited the quantities which they packed. The Waikato fishing, on which the local Maoris depend for the major part of their income, was not so good as usual, which may have been due to the abnormally low river. The decline in whitebait catches from the Rangitikei River and from the Blenheim district was also ascribed to the low state of the rivers. Such conditions operate to the disadvantage of the net operator by reducing the velocity of the flow, and thus enabling the whitebait shoals to ascend in more extended order. The fishing in Southland is also reported to have been affected by unfavourable weather, but in this case it was probably floods that interfered with the operations. Taranaki fishing was better than average, and was favoured by suitable weather conditions. The season was a very poor one for Hawke's Bay. The local Inspector points out that the raising of the river-beds by the recent earthquake has been detrimental. Foxton (Manawatu River) had " the worst season on record." The known occurrence of conditions inimical to whitebait production—destruction of spawning-grounds and pollution—in this river have been pointed out in previous reports, and it is a matter for regret that the Department has not been able to keep in touch with the conditions and to exercise some control in the direction of bringing about improvements. The whole of the East Coast of the South Island showed poor whitebait fishing this season. How far this was due to climatic conditions and how far it is the result of more intensive settlement and cultivation of the land is an open question. It cannot be doubted that as civilization and cultivation increase whitebait propagation decreases. The history of the settlement of New Zealand shows it, the known facts as to the present distribution of whitebait in the Dominion corroborate it, and the conditioning factors have been elucidated by recent investigations already described in previous reports. It seems very desirable that steps should be taken without delay to deal more especially with the matter of preserving spawning localities from destruction and damage. Further spawning places of this species have been located during the year as follows : On the right bank of the tidal portion of the Waitangi River (South Westland) observed by Mr. James Donovan, of Okarito, in March, 1932 and 1933 ; about three-quarters of a mile from the mouth of the Tukituki River, Hawke s Bay, where an area about 150 yards long by 7 yards wide was utilized bv inanga for spawning, the eggs being observed among fescue grass, by Mr. A. G. Petersen, Inspector of Fisheries for Napier ; from 200 to 500 yards from the mouth of the Turanganui River, which flows into Lake Onoke (lower Wairarapa), by Mrs. McKenzie, of Turanganui, in March, 1933. The interesting point about the last-mentioned occurrence is that the Turanganui River is in no way tidal. The inanga were observed spawning after a rise of 2 in. or 3 in. caused by a slight fresh in the river owing to rain. When the river went down the banks were inspected by Mr. McKenzie and Mr. Warren, and large numbers of eggs were found among the roots of willows and among tall fescue grass and other herbage along the margin of the stream over which the water had risen during the fresh. This is the first definite instance known where this species has not been helped by the rise and fall of the spring tide in finding a location for its ova. A sample of the eggs was brought by Mr. Warren to the Fisheries Office and identified. The larva; were hatched out and some of them were kept alive for twenty days. A second instance where spawning takes place under similar conditions has subsequently been mentioned to me by Mr. Digby, Curator of the North Canterbury Acclimatization Society's Hatchery, who reported having seen spawning taking place late in February last just inside " No. 1 Creek," Lake Ellesmere. Quinnat Salmon. As was foreshadowed by the excellent run of well-grown fish during the angling season, the spawning run in the Waitaki River was very much above average both as to quantity and size. It was said to be the second-best run yet known for the Waitaki. The fish appeared early in the Hakataramea, but a fresh at the beginning of April, 1932, delayed the construction of the rack and the first run was thus allowed to go by without providing any material for the hatchery. It was not possible to get the rack into operation until the 21st April. Further floods in early May continued to give trouble and on the 10th of that month the rack was carried away. Subsequently a pound net was used. The total number of fish taken for stripping was 58 males and 70 females, and the eggs put down in the hatchery numbered 370,000 at the eyed stage. The first salmon was trapped on 22nd April and the last on 11th June. 360,000 ova were sent to Westland and 10,000 kept at and hatched out for the stocking of the parr pond. Of the parr kept in the pond from the 1931 hatching, 3,915 were marked, by clipping off the two ventral fins, and liberated into the Hakataramea River. Several of the males among these pondreared quinnat showed signs of sexual ripeness in winter 1932, about the end of their first year. Some of these precociously matured fish were retained in the pond for subsequent observation. Two of them had died by the end of August, 1932. A visit by the Fish Culturist, Mr. J. S. Main, to Deep Creek, the tributary of the Rangitata which has been regarded for some time as its principal quinnat-spawning water, disclosed the fact that this stream did not receive such a good run of salmon as had usually been the case in previous years, though the general run of quinnat was a good one, and spawning fish were reported in considerable abundance in the main river and in other tributaries. The spawning reaches of Deep Creek appeared

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