970 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



called by the natives "upokororo." This interesting fish, however, seems to be 

 on the verge of extermination, owing to the introduction of trout into the 

 rivers it inhabits, to mining, and to clearing of the vegetation from the banks 

 of the rivers for farming purposes. 



The early colonists who emigrated to New Zealand from Great Britain were 

 very, much surprised to find a country with such fine rivers, lakes, and streams, 

 but with no fish of any value in them. In a few years the question of introdu- 

 cing some of the British Salmonidae was considered, and in 1864 the matter 

 assumed definite shape when the Otago Provincial Council took it up and voted 

 a sum of money for the importation of Atlantic salmon eggs (Salmo salar) , and 

 in 1868 the first lot of English brown trout {Salmo jario) eggs arrived in the 

 colony. Since that time the English brown trout and the Loch Leven trout 

 {Salmo levenensis) have been successfully acclimatized, and the brown trout now 

 abounds in many of the rivers, particularly those in the South Island. 



Of American fishes the following species have been brought into New Zea- 

 land : Rainbow trout {Salmo irideus) , eastern brook trout {Salvelinus jontinalis) , 

 whitefish {Coregonus clupeiformis) , chinook salmon {Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) , 

 sockeye salmon {0. nerka), landlocked salmon {Salmo sehago), Mackinaw trout 

 {Cristivomer namaycush), lake herring {Argyrosomus artedi), and catfish {Ameiu- 

 rus vulgaris). Of these we have successfully acclimatized the rainbow trout, 

 brook trout, and the catfish, and as the chinook and sockeye salmon have now 

 returned from the sea to spawn three seasons in succession, I think that we can 

 fairly claim that they are established as well. 



The following account of the introduction of the fishes mentioned above 

 may be of interest: 



Rainbow trout. — Three consignments of eggs were obtained from California 

 by the Auckland Acclimatization Society in 1883 and 1884. These, I believe, 

 were the only rainbow eggs which have been brought to this country. A con- 

 siderable percentage were lost on the voyage down, but sufficient were saved to 

 provide a stock of brood fish for the hatcheries, and a number to plant in some of 

 the northern rivers. It took some years to work up a stock of spawners at the 

 hatcheries, and as the young fish were produced they were planted in streams all 

 over the Auckland province. It is about fifteen years since rainbow trout com- 

 menced to be caught by anglers, and now they exist in immense numbers in 

 almost all the rivers, lakes, and streams in that part of the country. 



These fish grow to a great size in this country. While the most common 

 weight caught by anglers is from 2 to 8 pounds, specimens are frequently taken 

 ranging from 10 to 18 pounds, and occasionally over 20 pounds. On the walls 

 of my office I have six mounted specimens taken in the spawning season from a 

 stream flowing into Lake Tarawera; the smallest of these is 12 pounds and the 

 largest 18 pounds. Heavier specimens could have been procured, but these 



