The Biology of Trout in Kenya Colony.

Apart from Copley's papers (1940 a, b, 1947, 1950), there have been no scientific observations made on trout biology in East Africa, though van Someren has also published a few preliminary observations (1946). Trout were first introduced into Kenya Colony in 1905, and there are now many miles of trout water available in the Colony; the history of their introduction has been described by Copley (1938, 1940 a and b). Management of these trout waters has been largely empirical and remarkably successful, though the need has now been recognised to support such management policies by biological data. Because such data are largely lacking, the work at the Research Centre, which has gradually increased in scope as facilities became available, has been directed mainly towards the collection and assessment of facts on the natural history of our exotic trout in all aspects. Two and a half year's work has seen the amassing of a very large quantity of such factual data, and the results are presented herewith. The reader will find this first account of trout biology purely descriptive and analytical; very few experimental results are described, and there are only occasional references to aspects and policies of fishery management. Proposals for the later can only be based on the scientific data now being made available, and will follow naturally as results become known and confirmed by experimental procedure. Thus in time will the rivers yield the fullest of which they are capable.

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