[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] Sta,--In your very interesting
article " Some Problems of Salmon," in the issue of March 11th, you ask why should eome fish run up and spawn so late as September, and others precede them by eight months in January and February. The .s.aggeeted reason is that the salmon are worried by a parasite,
sea-loose, which is frequently seen adhering to the scales of " spring " fish. This parasite dies in the fresh water, and the suggestion is that the " spring" salmon run up from the sea to get rid of.it. In the Killarney district the run of fish is from December to July' (extreme limits); they spawn about November, therefore all remain in, the fresh water for a minimum period of between three and four months. This undoubtedly is due to their having a large fresh-water lake at their disposal, because the Laune from the Killarney Lake, and the Maine, a small river not running through any lake, debouch on the same estuary. Salmon begin to run up the Laune in December; they begin to run up the Maine in September. The Roughty, running from no lake into the Kenmare Estuary, has a September season ; the Caragh, a very short river of about half a mile, connecting a large lake of the same name with the sea, has the earliest season in the country. The Cork Blackwater, a large river, but no lake, has a spring and summer season, midway between the Caragh and the Haughty, and so on.—I am, Sir, &c., FISHING OWNER.
Previous page
