480 Transactions. 



The Flounder. 



Owing to the uncertainty as to the identity of the two species 

 of flounders which were taken in the harbour, it was considered 

 inadvisable in last year's report to publish an account of the 

 eggs and larvae until the species had been definitely ascertained. 

 This has now been done by Professor Benham, and Ave are able 

 to give a few particulars of each species. 



Ehombosolea plebeius, commonly known as the sand-flounder : 

 This species was taken in large numbers by the steam trawlers 

 and seine fishermen in June last, in Blueskin Bay. They were, 

 almost without exception, very large fish, and the females 

 greatly predominated. As many as twenty dozen were taken 

 in a night's fishing with one seine net, from Purakanui Beach. 

 It was decided to attempt to convey some of these fine fish to 

 the spawning-ponds, in hopes that better results would be ob- 

 tained from them than from the smaller fish taken in the bay 

 the previous year. The fish taken in the trawl were all too 

 much bruised for this purpose, and an arrangement was made 

 with Messrs. King, of Purakanui, to retain the largest females in 

 a coff until the following day, when they were towed ofl to the 

 trawler " Express " and placed in tubs into which a constant 

 stream of water was pumped, until arrival at Port Chalmers, 

 where they were again transferred to the coff, towed to the 

 station, and placed in the ponds. As seining is always carried 

 on at night and on an open surf beach, these fish were sub- 

 jected to a considerable amount of rough handling, on one 

 occasion remaining in the cofE overnight in Port Chalmers, 

 through bad weather. This resulted in their being in very 

 indifferent condition when they were placed in the ponds. Five 

 dozen large females were obtained in this manner ; the males 

 and a few other females were afterwards caught in the harbour. 

 From facts which have since been ascertained, it is very evident 

 that these ocean-caught flounders should have spawned about 

 the middle of August, as by the end of that month all the flat 

 fishes that were examined on board the trawlers were spent, 

 but nearly ripe females were still being taken within the harbour 

 as late as the 30th September (both B. fleheius and R. tapirina). 

 This fact would almost lead one to conclude that the flounders 

 frequenting the harbour remain within or almost within the 

 colder waters of the bay, and that the ripening of the ova is 

 thus retarded. It is a noteworthy coincidence that the first 

 eggs were collected from the pond on the 9th October, the exact 

 date on which the first collection was made in 1905. 



During the spawning season of 1905 the total collection of 

 flounder-ova was 650,000, from which 562,000, or 87 per cent, of 

 larvae, were hatched. Up to date of writing (30th November) 



