Fletciter. — Edihlf Fish, cC'c, of Tavpo-rud-o-Tia. 2G3 



When the net was used it was taken out a long distance from the shore 

 and lowered overboard, care being taken that it was the right wa}^ up. 

 It was then hauled ashore. Very large catches were sometimes made in 

 this way. Koura were also caught by means of bunches of fern, as 

 described under the heading of " Kokopu.'' The writer has seen as many 

 koura as kokopu shaken out of the bunch of fern into the bilge of a canoe. 



Of late 3^ears it has been a common practice for Maori women to grope 

 for koura among the weeds in the lake and rivers, and also under rocks 

 and stones along the edge of the lake. 



There is a photograph reproduced on page 55 of the Bitlletin already 

 quoted, and it is called, " Nets for koura, Lake Taupo." It is an exact 

 illustration of a pouraka with line and reel attached ready for use. We 

 cannot say that koura were not caught in them, but their chief use was 

 for catching kokopu, as described above. 



Kakahi. 



Kakahi is the Maori name of a fresh-water shell-fish which is fairly 

 common over the greater part of New Zealand. It is common in Taupo 

 Lake and Roto-a-Ira, and in the streams running into the lakes. Its 

 average length is 2j in. In the clear water of Lake Taupo it can be seen 

 pursuing its course over the clear sandy bottom, and leaving its charac- 

 teristic furrow on the sand. It was never very plentiful, nor was it sought 

 after so eagerly as kokopu, inanga, and koura. Where it was possible to 

 reach it in shallow water by hand it was simply picked up and placed in 

 a kit. In deeper water the method of obtaining it was called rou kakahi. 

 In Museum Bulletin No. 1, pages 62 and 63, are three illustrations of thes ' 

 dredges. Fig. La was the type in use at Taupo. The ordinary method of 

 using the implement was carried out by two men. One man, with the 

 dredge attached to a long pole, would put off from shore in a canoe as far 

 as he could touch bottom, while the other man stood on shore with the 

 bow-line of the canoe. The man in the canoe would lightly press the teeth 

 of the dredge into the sand or mud, and the one on shore would haul the 

 canoe ashore. Where the water was shallow for a long distance out the 

 implement was used with the net attached, as shown in the illustration 

 referred to. For a short distance the dredge was used without the net. 

 The flesh was taken out of the shells and dried in the sun after being strung 

 on strips of flax. It then assumed the appearance of small, hard, dark 

 objects, only suited to the digestion of a Maori or a moa. 



KOARO. 



Koaro is the Maori name of a small fish obtained under peculiar con- 

 ditions from Roto-a-Ira and the streams running into the lake. It seems 

 to have been ignored by ichthyologists, for as far as we are aware it has not 

 been classified. It has been known to Europeans from the accounts of the 

 earliest visitors. Bidwill says, " The natives said that there were no fish 

 in the lake except what I saw, and which were not more than an inch long. 

 The natives had vast quantities of these dried in baskets, which they cook 

 by making them into a kind of soup, but which did not smell sufiiciently 

 nice to tempt me to taste."* 



The Rev. R. Taylor in his Maori Dictionary mentions the koaro as a 

 small fish, about 3 in. long, found in Roto-a-Ira. 



There is an ancient lullaby composed by Te Ao-tarewa which speaks of 

 Nga-toro-i-rangi sowing the seed of the koaro.-\ There is an old Taupo 



* Rambles in New Zealand, p. 54. f Pohjnesian Journal, vol. 14, p. 135. 



