242 FISHES 



stream. The fish was in a dying condition, being greatly covered with 

 fungus. I now have it in formaUn at the station. This, I think, should 

 now set at rest all doubts as to them returning from the sea to spawn. 



In the following year some fish believed to be sock-eye salmon 

 were caught in Lake Ohau and sent to Sir James Hector, who reported 

 as follows (4th May, 1907): 



These fish are without doubt young sea-run specimens of the blue-back 

 salmon, sock-eye (properly " Saw-qui ") or red fish of Fraser River, and 

 the krasnaia ryba of Japan — ^two males and two females. These particular 

 fish are so much out of condition that they are not fit either for food or 

 sport ; yet, had they been allowed to mature, in the course of a few weeks 

 they might have produced about 2000 fertile eggs, which would have been 

 quite sufficient to stock Ohau Lake. 



The sizes of these fish were respectively: males, 19 in. and 42 oz.; 

 18 in. and 36 oz.; females, 28 in. and 28 oz. ; and 23 in. and 23 oz. 

 Mr L. F. Ayson, Inspector of Fisheries, writing to me in 

 September, 1916, says: 



An occasional sea-run Sock-eye has been taken in the spawning seasons. 

 The last was a pair which I caught in the Twizel River (a tributary of the 

 Ohau) in May, 1915, when collecting Quinnat salmon eggs. A number 

 of them, however, have remained in Lake Ohau, and have run into the 

 creeks at the head of the lake every season in the months of March and 

 April to spawn. These lake salmon are not plentiful and are dwarfed in 

 size, the average weight being under 2 lbs. This lake habit of some of the 

 Sock-eye is not peculiar to New Zealand, as in their native home in British 

 Columbia, a number remain in the lakes in the same way. 



Dr Bean says of this fish in the Alaska Rivers that they average 

 from 7 to 8 lb. in weight, though individuals are occasionally seen 

 up to 15 lb. They run up the American rivers from April to June or 

 July. 



Canadian land-locked Salmon (Salmo Sebago) 



In 1905 Mr L. F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, who went 

 to America for eggs of quinnat salmon, brought over to New Zealand 

 a case of eggs of the land-locked salmon for the Southland Acclimatisa- 

 tion Society. About 10,000 ova were received at the Wallacetown 

 Hatchery, and these hatched out well. Owing to some accident, all 

 of the fry with the exception of about 100, escaped into a race, 

 leading into the Makarewa. The remainder were probably placed in 

 Lake Te Anau, which was the destination originally intended for 

 all, but the Society's statement closes with the words " No further 

 record." 



The species is incorrectly named Salmo ovanniche in the Southland 

 Society's report. 



