ABOUT FISH

Hokitika Guardian, 18 February 1922, Page 1

ABOUT FISH

Mr E. F. St-end informed the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society that he had found parasitic worms in the stomach of trout in the Rakaia. He said that he did

not know whether the worms were identical with parasitical worms found iin the kahawai land the red! cod, and he did not know whether they were marine worms or fresh-water

worms, but all the trout in which he Found them had come in direct from the sea. In many cases the worms

were three-quarters of an inch long. They were not actually in the flesh of the fish, but were in the stomach cavity, in clusters, and from 500 to 5000 might be found in one fish. He never had found them in Rakaia trout before. Of six salmon he cought in that river, there was one worm in one of them. He suggested that anglers who found the parasites in trout should send specimens with affected parts, to Professor W. B. Bonham, Director of Otago Museum, in order that they might be identified. “The trouble might prove a very serious one,” he concluded. Tu December 1920, ,about 5000 shrimps caught in the tida] waters of the Ashley River were placed in a race

in the Acclimatisation Society’s gardens in Christchurch, in order to ascertain if they would increase when they were transferred to waters other than their natural spawning places. Most of the shrimps placed in the race had eggs attached. After they had been in the race for more than a year Mr D. Hope, curator ran off the water and examined the pools. He found that there were considerable numbers of shrimps, but all except one seemed to he young, the original stock having almost completely disappeared. The ported erf the experiment. Mr Hope, reported to the council of the Acclimatisat’i'on Society, Christchurch, showed that the shrimps certainly would spawn in

fresh water, although their natural spawning place was in tidal water, or

within a short distance of water influenced by the tide. The almost complete disappearance of adults from the race seemed to point to the fact, that they required tidal water in which to increase. He suggested that the young shrimps should be kept in the race for another year in order to ascertain if they spawned or died. Mr M. H. Godhy said that the adult shrimps probably bad escaped from the race and had not died. Mr E. F. Stead said that the experiment was a cry important one, as shrimps if they increased in fresh water, would be valuable food for trout. It was somewhat strange that shrimps were present in jo'"" Canterbury rivers, hut not in others. In the rivers in which they were present, trout were exceptionally large and had good pink flesh. The object of the experiment was to discover if rivers not frequented by shrimps at present could be stocked with them, in order to provide additional food supplies for the trout. The council agreed with Mr Hope’s suggestion that the experiment should be continued.