538 ACCLIMATISATION WORK; 



There were rabbits in Otago at three or more different localities in 

 the very early days of settlement. None of these colonies succeeded, 

 but we cannot tell now to what particular breeds they belonged. It 

 is just possible that they were of races which had been long under 

 domestication, which would certainly be the kind that would carry 

 best, and would be the most likely to be brought out in immigrant 

 ships as pets. It was not till after the introduction of grey rabbits 

 in the sixties, rabbits of a particularly aggressive and vigorous type, 

 that these animals became a nuisance. 



Very little is known about the movements and migrations of 

 fishes in the sea, and in New Zealand practically nothing definite has 

 been recorded. The date of the movements of the eels from the Wai- 

 kato to the sea ; the invasion of the southern rivers by lampreys in 

 October ; the northern drift of vast shoals of Clupea (pilchards and 

 sprats) along the east coast of Otago in January and February — such 

 general facts as these have been recorded, but no detailed observations 

 have been made. It is to be regretted that steps were not taken in 

 the past to mark specimens of Atlantic salmon (Salmo solar) when 

 liberating them, in order to try, if possible, to gain some knowledge 

 of their movements. The fact is that for over fifty years in this country, 

 and for even longer in Tasmania, the young of this species have 

 been turned out into the rivers by the million. They have found 

 their way to the sea, and yet none have ever returned. What comes 

 of them is a mystery regarding which no solution has ever been 

 oflFered. 



Another interesting case is the failure, so far, of the European 

 lobster (Homarus vulgaris) to appear again in our seas. In this instance 

 numerous larvae — averaging at a low estimate 100,000 per annum, 

 and in many cases at a fairly advanced stage of development — have 

 been liberated from the Portobello Fish Hatchery into Otago Harbour, 

 for twelve years past. In addition, several adults were liberated within 

 the harbour. Allowing even ten years for a lobster to come to sexual 

 maturity, when all the larger crustaceans usually begin to move about 

 in large shoals, there has been ample time for adult specimens to 

 show themselves, if they are in New Zealand waters, either near the 

 Otago coast, or further north, whither the northerly current would 

 carry them while they were still in the free-swimming stage. It is 

 hoped, and with good reason, that they will appear some day in 

 quantity, but there are no indications so far. The same remarks 

 apply to the European edible crab {Cancer pagurus) of which between 

 thirty and forty million larvas, and some adults, have been liberated. 

 Periodical migration of Crustacea — large and small — does take place 

 in the seas, the causes of which are quite unknown, so both the 



