QUINNAT SALMON.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1509, 3 August 1912, Page 3

QUINNAT SALMON.

STOCKING THE HOKITIKA RIVER. Reports on the subject of salmon fisheries, furnished to the Minister for Marine (the ! Hon. I'. M. B. Fisher) state that the Department is endeavouring to stock tho Hokitika River with quinnat salmon, and that (hiring the last two spawning seasons for this fish, ova has been' collected from the fish which go np the Waitaki River and its tributaries jo spawn. It is then inspected at the hatchery at Hakataramea, and sent over to Hokitika. During this season 237,000 ova. were, collected, of which 190,000 were sent to Hokitika, 27,500 to Tasmania, and 7300 were kept at Hakataramea. There was .a loss of 12,000 during hatching. Owing to the long period of exceptionally dry weather experienced in the Mackenzie Country and Upper Waitaki this year, from to well on in June, the-Waitaki River mid its tributaries were unusually lew, and fewer salmon than usual entered the smaller tributaries. Nevertheless, it Ls reported tliat in point of numbers tho run of salmon this season was quite up to that of previous seasons, and tho fish, were larger. At tho Ohau Bridge on May 15, Mr. Ayson (Chief Inspector of Fisheries) saw 29 fish, running frqni threo to four feet in length. A peculiarity of this season's netting is the large porcentago of male salmon which were caught. Mr. Ajyson states that had the proportion of females been equal lo that of other seasons double tho quantity cf eggs would have been obtained.