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Volume 35, 1902
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Art. XXXVII.—Notes on the New Zealand Whitebait.

By Sir J. Hector

[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 18th November 1902.]

The question of the true nature of the so-called “New Zealand whitebait” has been so fully worked out and published that it is hardly necessary to say more about it. It belongs to the genus Galaxias, and is closely allied to the pike family (Esocidœ), and has no relation to the herrings of which the English whitebait is either the young fry or perhaps a separate species belonging to the genus Clupea; nor does it belong to the Salmonidœ, which in New Zealand is represented by (1) Retropinna, or “inanga” of the Maoris, and “smelt” of the settlers; and (2) by the “grayling” of the settlers, or “upokororo” of the Maoris (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus). All these fish ascend rivers, but they descend perhaps for breeding purposes to the tidal waters. Their history in this stage is still very obscure.

We thus have in our rivers: (1.) Grayling, or upokororo (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus), which is a game fish, taking fly-hooks, and growing to 14 in. in length, and ascending high up in the rivers at certain seasons in large schools. (2.) Smelt: This delicate fish is common only in estuarian water. Length from 5 in. to 12 in. There are probably two species (Retropinna richardsoni and Osmerus eperlanus). (3.) Galaxias,* so-called minnow of New Zealand, but, as above stated, allied to the pike of England (Esox lucius). Of this minnow there are probably several species.

The following are my notes on these fishes, published in 1870, but now out of print:—

The fresh waters of New Zealand are inhabited by only a few kinds of fish as compared with most other countries, and they are mostly of small size. Nevertheless, from their abundance at certain seasons, some species are of considerable importance as sources of food, and in a few cases possess more interest for the angler than is usually conceded to them. The two first species I have to mention deserve the attention of observers from their close affinity to the salmon and trout, of which the latter are now being rapidly acclimatised in the streams throughout the colony.

[Footnote] * Hector, vol. ii., 402; Hutton, vol. xxviii., 314; Powall, vol. 84, 417; Clarke, vol. xxxi., 78.

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Upokororo.

This is the native name of the grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus), a fish that has been long familiar to the settlers in certain districts, but which does not appear to have been obtained by any of the earlier collectors of the fishes of New Zealand, and remained undescribed till last year (1869), when specimens were forwarded by the Westland Naturalists' Society to Mr. Frank Buckland, who eventually requested Dr. Günther's opinion about them. He recognised it to be a closely allied species to a fish from the fresh waters of Australia, discovered in 1862, and which he had placed in the same family with a salmonoid fish (Haplochiton) that inhabits the cold fresh waters of Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and the southern parts of the American Continent.

Respecting the relationship of these genera to each other, Dr. Günther states that the Australian and New Zealand fish stand in the same relation to those in South America as the genus Coregonus (of which the whitefish of the American lakes and the vendace of Scotland are examples) does to the true salmon, and that, “however the southern Haplochitonidœ may differ from the Salmonidœ in the structure of the jaws and intestines, it is a most remarkable fact that the fresh waters of the Southern Hemisphere are inhabited by two genera with adipose fins so extremely similar in outward appearance to the northern Salmonoids.”*

In ignorance of Dr. Günther's researches, I had previously† described the upokororo from specimens obtained in the Hutt River in January, 1870, and made the mistake of placing it in the only genus of salmonoid fishes then known to occur in New Zealand, and which is not found elsewhere (Retropinna).

With reference to the Australian congener of the upokororo, Professor McCoy remarks, “The Yarra Yarra and some other of the rivers near the southern coast contain in great abundance a beautiful and active fish, excellent for the table, and affording capital sport to the angler. By ichthyologists following the classification of Cuvier it would be referred to the Salmonidœ, the adipose second dorsal fin being well marked, and so much does it resemble the grayling in the cucumber smell when caught, in general appearance, habits, mode of rising to fly, and playing, as well as in flavour, that anglers are now in the habit of calling it ‘the Australian grayling.’ Its close resemblance in food and habits to the true Salmonidœ helped the acclimatisation society to argue that certain of our rivers would serve for the experiment

[Footnote] * “Proceedings Zoological Society,” London, 10th March, 1870.

[Footnote] † Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. iii., p. 136; Ann. Nat. Hist. 1867 (Neochanna).

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of acclimatising the European salmon and trout, and, as experience has since shown, successfully. It is vulgarly also called the ‘Yarra herring,’ and is the Prototroctes murœna.”

This description applies to the New Zealand upokororo, except that it does not possess the “cucumber smell,” which, however, is as strongly marked in our other and proper native Salmonoid (Retropinna) as it is in the English smelt (Osmerus eperlanus). The upokororo appears to inhabit clear running streams in all parts of the colony, and I believe that the large fish locally called “trout,” which were sometimes cast up on the beaches of the great inland lakes of Otago in the early days before trout were introduced, also belong to this species.

From all accounts they probably reached 6 lb. or 8 lb. in weight, but the usual size of this fish is under 1 lb. weight, and from 10 in. to 12 in. in length; and I have seen no specimens less than 7 in., and certainly none in the semi-larval stage of whitebait.

At certain seasons they assemble in the streams in immense shoals, and the fact of their being often seen near the mouths of rivers has given rise to the idea that the upokororo is a sea-going fish that enters the fresh water for the purpose of spawning. In my former account of this fish I adopted this view, and quoted a statement to the same effect by Mr. W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S.; but further inquiry leads me to-think that these fish are constantly resident in the fresh water, and that their annual migration does not extend beyond the commencement of the brackish water.

The fishermen on the rivers of the West Coast who supply the large townships with fish obtained chiefly in the salt and brackish water within the river bars appear to be very confident that the “grayling,” as they term it, does not enter the salt water; and on the same subject I have the following note from Mr. C. Hursthouse, of Taranaki: “The upokororo, which you describe as a sea-visiting fish, is not such here. I made its esteemed acquaintance years ago in our little belle rivière Waiwaikaiho. Natives, however, told us that it is solely an inhabitant of fresh water, that it spawns high up in the streams, and that, though always present in the pools along their courses, they come down in great numbers during floods. The only one ever found here in salt water was a dead one picked up at the mouth of the Henui after a heavy spate. Our most skilful brother of the rod, Mr. J. H. Smith, who; as shown by his diary, caught last year 1,152 of these fish in fifty-eight fishing-days, taking in one day ninety-three, thinks that upokororo would no more Here, with our rude tackle, they do not rise at the artificial fly, but

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greedily bite at the small red worm, which is only found under dry stock droppings; the common garden worm has never tempted one.”

As it is very probable that by many observers the larger-sized smelt (Retropinna), which we shall find is a fish common to both fresh and salt water, is frequently mistaken for the upokororo (perhaps in Australia as well as this colony), the question is one that still requires further investigation; and it will be a most interesting fact, if it can be established, that this fish, which is so universally distributed in New Zealand, and has close allies in South America and Australia, cannot survive in sea-water. Mr. Travers observed this fish in the Maitai River in the early part of October, and I have specimens from the Hutt River, full of spawn, obtained in the month of January; while on the West Coast they are said to be caught several months later in the season, and even in winter.

The upokororo is readily distinguished from the smelt (which is the only other fish in our streams with a fleshy second dorsal lobe) by its small tumid mouth, shorter lower jaws, and minute teeth closely placed together like a comb round the jaws. They vary very much in richness of colour, from a general silvery hue and brownish on the back, while others are dark speckled brown on back, and rich yellow almost golden in tint, on the belly.

The Smelt.

This delicate little fish, which belongs to the true Salmonidœ, was first described by Sir John Richardson from specimens which were obtained at the Bay of Islands with a net, and therefore, infer, in the salt water; but it is, at certain seasons, one of the most common of our freshwater fishes. In my former paper on the New Zealand Salmonoids* I distinguished two species of the smelt, the inanga and the proper smelt, which have been again united by Captain Hutton under the original species, Retropinna richardsoni. I am still, however, inclined to maintain that R. Osmeroides should be recognized as a distinct from until more definite proof can be adduced that it is merely a different stage in the growth of the first-described species.

My first acquaintance with these fish was in 1863, at the mouth of the Kotuku River, on the west coast of Otago, where in the month of September, both kinds were obtained the larger variety (R. osmeroides) following the flood tide in numerous shoals into all the little streams to which the brackish water penetrated, leaping out of the water in a very

[Footnote] * Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. iii., p. 138, pl. xviii., xix.

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lively fashion—the Maoris catching them as the tide fell by closing weirs made of flax net across the small creeks. Their length was from 4 in. to 7 in., and they took bait voraciously.

The smaller fish (R. richardsoni), averaging 3 in. to 4 in. in length, on the other hand, chiefly appeared round the sides of the vessel in swarms at ebb tide, when the water was quite fresh, and were caught with bag nets.

Later in the season, during the month of November, the same fish was found in quantities in the Kakapo Lake, where the water is always quite fresh; but along with the smaller ones were many of larger size, averaging 4 in. in length, and having the appearance of adult fish, without showing any of their characters.

In the Blackwater, which is a tributary of the Buller River, twenty miles from the sea, a fish which answers to R. osmeroides is abundant from February till June, and is caught in large quantities with a net at nightfall; but the smaller fish, which was described by me as the whitebait, with a silver line on the sides, arrives in October in closely packed shoals, that advance steadily up stream against the rapids.

Captain Hutton states that in the Waikato these fish go down to the sea to spawn in April, and that the young fish return again in October; but among the specimens he collected both forms can be distinguished, although some specimens of each are of equal size.

In a collection of fishes obtained from Taupo Lake I also find a small-sized form of the smelt, which, though differing in some respects from those found in the Waikato, has decidedly the character of R. osmeroides.

Specimens caught sixteen miles up the Wanganui River in the month of November also have the character of R. osmeroides. They are 5 in. in length, and full of roe.

In the collections exhibited, which comprise all the specimens in the Museum, it is always easy to distinguish the fish which answers to Richardson's very minute description. They are of all sizes up to 4 in., at which size I consider they are adult, having a rather deep-shaped body, yellow colour with a silver streak on the side, a short conical snout, and very large eye. In the largest specimens the length of the body is less than four times that of the head, and less than five times the height of the body. The cleft of the mouth is small, and the teeth are very minute. The form of the stomach corresponds with Richardson's description, being like a fleshy tube, with a bend dividing it into an œsophageal and pyloric branch.

On the other hand, the specimens of R. osmeroides have the external appearance of a true English smelt, the body being

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more elongated than the former species, especially in the case of the specimens from Taupo Lake. The colour (in spirits) of the Taupo specimens is also different from the others, being a brown-grey, with the silver band on the side very indistinct, whilst the other specimens are yellow. In other respects they have the same distinguishing characters from the type of R. richardsoni, which are an elongated snout, deeply cleft mouth, powerful jaws, and strong teeth. The stomach is also different in form, being a blind sac with the œsophageal and pyloric orifices close together.

As these differences are of considerable importance, I think it will be of advantage for observers, in recording the habits of these fish, in the meantime to distinguish between the two forms, even if they should ultimately prove to be the same species. Both the large and the small smelts form delicious food, the smallest size, when about 2 in. in length, being one of several young fish that are called “whitebait”; the large specimens, 7 in. in length, were called “aua” by the natives, which is also one name for the small sea-mullet.

Kokopu (Genus Galaxias).

This is the general Maori name for several very common fishes in the New Zealand streams and lakes, belonging to a family concerning which Dr. Günther makes the following very interesting remarks: “The family of Galaxidœ was formed by the late Johannes Müller for a single genus, Galaxias — scaleless freshwater fishes from the temperate zone of the Southern Hemisphere, which, with regard to the development and position of their fins, remind us of the pikes of the Northern Hemisphere, but in other respects resemble the Salmonoids, to which they have been compared by Muller. Also, the settlers in at least some parts of New Zealand have dignified the larger kinds with the name of ‘trout,’ or ‘rock-trout.’ However, they cannot be regarded as the southern representatives of the Salmonoids, inasmuch as recent researches have shown that this latter family is represented in the Southern Hemisphere by other much more closely allied genera (Haplochiton and Prototroctes). If we look for the representatives of the Galaxidœ in other zones, perhaps the African Mormyridœ and the arctic Esocidœ are those which may be mentioned with the greatest propriety. Up to the present time only twelve species of Galaxias are known. Their geographical distribution is a point to which the greatest interest attaches. We find the genus most developed in New Zealand, where five species occur, and these are the largest of the whole group. Westward it extends to New South Wales with three and to Tasmania with

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two species. Another is said to be an inhabitant of the creeks of Queensland; but this is doubtful. Eastwards the same genus is met with again in the southernmost parts of America (Falkland Islands, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego), whence three species are known; and finally a minute form is said to occur in Chile. The occurrence of the same natural genus of freshwater fishes in Australia, New Zealand, and South America would appear to be significant enough, and must be the more so when we find that even one and the same species (Galaxias attenuatus) inhabits the fresh waters of countries separated at present by the South Pacific Ocean.”

Two species of this fish have been figured, as they are most frequently met with, and illustrate the greatest variety of external form which the genus presents in New Zealand. The kokopu proper is a fat, sluggish fish found lurking under stones and rotten logs in all the streams in the colony, however small, where not running over a clear or stony bottom. They afford very came sport, but are fair eating, resembling the eel in flavour.

The other species (G. attenuatus), which is the adult form of the true whitebait of New Zealand, it is proposed to distinguish as the New Zealand minnow. It is a little fish constantly seen in most clear running streams, with very much the same habits as the English minnow. At certain seasons the young fry swarm in incredible numbers, and form the whitebait of New Zealand, but are a very poor substitute for the little herring that is so well known at Greenwich by that name. At Taupo Lake and other places in the interior small fish, which the Maoris collectively term “inanga,” but which are chiefly of the species now referred to, form the food of the natives for many months in the year, and are obtained in such abundance as to yield an ample supply both for daily use and to preserve for other seasons. These small fish are caught, where streams enter the lake, with fine-meshed nots woven of green flax. Several bushels of them are frequently caught at one time, and are immediately piled on hot stones, and covered with mats and earth for half an hour or so, in the usual manner of Maori cookery, but without the addition of any water. Thus prepared, if not for immediate use, they are firmly packed in sightly plaited baskets, and in this state will keep for months, at least sufficiently well to suit the Maori taste, which is not fastidious.

The young of any of the following freshwater fishes may be taken as whitebait, but probably at different seasons and in varying localities, viz.:—

1. Salmonoids. — (a.) Grayling (Prototroctes). (b.) Smelt (Rekopinna).

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2. Galaœias.—The New Zealand minnow, often wrongly named “smelt.” There are probably several species, but the young fry of G. attenuatus is undoubtedly the most common kind of whitebait in the market. It is the little fish that is scooped up with fine-meshed nots on the turn of the tide in the Gray, Hokitika, Buller, and most of the larger river in New Zealand.

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