49 167 



1874—75. "Of the fresh-water eels iilaccd in a tributary of tlie Sacramento River, we learn 

 lliat one had been cauj^ht in Willow Sloufih, in Yolo County, which had grown to 

 be more than a foot in length. We have no knowledge that the salt-water eels jilaced 

 in Sacramento Bay have ever been seen". 



1870—77, It was stated that a few eels had been caught, but they had not become numerous. 

 The next report recorded the ca])ture of several "taken in the fresh water, near Sa- 

 cramento, full grown, and 3 feet in length". 

 1880. "Occasionally we hear of an eel being captured, but as yet they have not shown an 



increase in proportion to that of other imported TlsIi"'. 

 1882. "The San Francisco Chronicle of February 8 reports the catch by George Bird of 

 the first eel, resulting from a ])lant of 12,<iOO made by the (California fish commis- 

 sioners. It was caught on the easterly shore of San Francisco Bay and measured 

 3 feet in length". 



1883—84. "Eels jilaced in our waters by the former commissioners, have not been a success. 

 It is probable that the place where they were deposited and where they have made 

 their home has not yet been discovered, at all events none have been taken since 

 they were planted. It seems to us that they ought to do well in our inland waters, 

 as they are fond of the bottoms of ponds or streams where mud prevails, as is the 

 case in our lakes and rivers". 



Oni Forholdene 10 Aar senere meddeler Hugh M. Smith følgende paa Grundlag 

 af egne Erfaringer: 



"In 1894, when the writer visited the Pacific Coast, no eels were at any time seen in the 

 markets of San Francisco or other cities, and the following statement, based on his obser- 

 vations, was printed in a report embodying the data on certain phases of the fishing industry 

 at the time: "Inquiries regarding the results of the attemjited acclimatization of the eel {An- 

 guilla clirijsypa) on this coast are apt to elicit misleading information unless great care is 

 exercised. In the San Francisco markets one learns that eels are not infrequently exposed 

 for sale, and that both salt water and river fishermen catch them occasionally, but an exa- 

 mination of the reported eels usually shows them to be lamprej's "'. 



Hugh M. Smith slutter sin Omtale af Forsøgene paa at akklimatisere Aalen i 

 Californien med følgende Ord: 



"In view of the hardiness and great prolificness of the eel, it is somewhat remarkable 

 that it has not gained a firm hold in Calilbrnia and become abundant. It is, of course, pos- 

 sible that the failure to catch more of them has been due to the absence of suitable pots or 

 traps, but the fact that the fish are so seldom taken with the various forms of apparatus now 

 used can only be explained by their actual scarcity, and in their last report (1894—95) the 

 California fish commissioners regard the eel as one of the fish from whose attempted intro- 

 duction "no result can be saiil to have come"'. 



Med vor nuværende Viden er det ikke vanskeligt at indse, hvorfor disse Forsøg 

 paa at akklimatisere Aalen ved Stillehavets Kyster mislykkedes. Tværtimod synes 

 de, saa vidt det da efter de foreliggende Beretninger er muligt at domme, at være 

 forløbne nøjagtigt, som det var al vente: I de første Aar efter Udsætningen fanges 

 der af og til Aal, hvoraf nogle synes at have voxet meget hurtigt, maaske paa 

 Grund af de gunstige Lokaliteter, man havde valgt til Udsættelsen. Men efter faa 

 Aars Forløb er det hele forbi, uden at der som af de andre transplanterede Fiske- 

 arter har vist sig Yngel til Erstatning og Mangfoldiggørelse af den udsalte Bestand. 



n. K. I). Vi.li'iisU. SclsU. SUr., 7. Il.i-kke. nnlurviilcnsU. .);; m:illu-m. Aid. VIII. :i. 22 



