— ae 
—————e 
UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES OF MARINE FISHERIES. 21 
reason of their abnormally developed lower jaw are dangerous 
to younger fish, and the wounds they inflict become covered with 
fungus (Saprolegnia ferax), which will eventually kill the fish if 
it does not immediately return to salt water. (4) Saprolegnia, 
being contagious, is a very dangerous disease to have set going 
amongst a crowd of spawning fish. (5) Even where the old 
males do not start it by wounding others, they are very liable to 
it themselves, and so become a source of danger. From what 
has been said, it will be seen how desirable it is that the breeding 
stock should be young and healthy. A method of removing old 
and undesirable fish will be discussed presently. 
THe Upper PROPRIETORS’ GRIEVANCE. 
As an illustration of the difficulty in fairly distributing the 
advantages of the presence of salmon in a river, I may mention a 
case in point. On a certain river there was a pretty lively state 
of affairs between the conservators, the proprietors, and the 
fishermen. Again and again adjustments had been tried and 
bye-laws altered, but the unfortunate conservators were at their 
wits end, and did not know what to do, for each move brought a 
storm of abuse from one or other of the factions, and while the 
uproar was at its height a letter was received from one of the 
upper proprietors which threatened to make matters worse. This 
gentleman stated that over 70 per cent. of the salmon in the river 
spawned in his waters, but they did not arrive there till after the 
close season had set in, and he asked for a week’s rod fishing to 
be allowed him in consideration of the protection he and his 
keepers afforded the salmon while on the spawning beds. The 
request was refused, and nothing more was heard of the matter 
till spawning time. Then the conservators heard that Mr 
So-and-so had been blowing up the salmon on the spawning beds 
with dynamite in order that he might turn his piece of river into a 
well-stocked trout water. Naturally, there was a row, and 
though the conservators were able to prevent him repeating the 
outrage, considerable mischief had already been done, and they 
were not able to prevent him erecting a trout hatchery and turn- 
ing down many thousands of trout. This, of course, meant 
destruction to quantities of salmon eggs on the spawning beds. 
