1902. Notes. 21 



Porbeagle Shark from Dublin Bay. 



The daily papers recently aunounced the capture of a shark in Dublin 

 Baj', as if such a thing was an unheard-of occurrence. As a matter of 

 fact, sharks are rather abundant on the Irish coasts, although they 

 belong to species which do not attack man. Of the Irish sharks the 

 largest is the Basking Shark — often called " Sun-fish " on the west coast 

 of Ireland — which grows to a length of about 40 feet. A stuffed 

 specimen, 27 feet long, from Inishbofin is in the National Museum. 



The Porbeagle Shark {Laiima comubica, Gmel.), differs from the last- 

 named chiefly in size and in the shape of the teeth — which in the former 

 are large and lanceolate, while only very minute conical teeth are found 

 in the Basking Shark. The specimen referred to as having been 

 recently captured measured fully 9 feet in length, which is the size of the 

 largest we have any record of from Irish waters. It was bought by Mr. 

 M'Cabe, of the South City Market, who— after exhibiting it for some 

 days— presented its head to the National Museum. In October, 1893, a 

 Porbeagle Shark, of precisely the same dimensions as the one just referred 

 to, was captured outside Kingstown Harbour in a net ; and it was 

 mounted by Messrs. Williams & Son, of Dublin, for the National 

 Museum. 



R. F. SCHARFF. 



Science and Art Museum, Dublin. 



Fish and Fishing off the Co. Down Coast. 



The mention by Mr. R. Lloyd Patterson of the Monk Fish reminds me, 

 that in the summer of 1890 I captured, off Glassdrummond Port, in a 

 trammel net a good specimen of this species about 4^ feet long. I had 

 never seen one before, nor had any of the fishermen in the neighbourhood. 

 I, therefore, photographed it, and it was identified (I think by Mr. S. 

 A. Stewart) as an Angel Fish or Monk Fish. 



In the same summer one'of my boatmen caught — on a streaming line— 

 a Mackerel with a rubber band round its bod}', which had eaten into 

 the fish so as to cause an opening into its interior underneath the body. 

 The fish, nevertheless, seemed quite lively, and took the bait. It is now 

 in the Belfast Museum, College Square. 



My notes of this year's doings recall, also, that I made a test of the 

 popular belief that fish are attracted by a light. I procured a water- 

 tight lantern, containing an electric lamp, with an accumulator and 

 connecting cable. After fishing at anchor in 14 fathoms for Sea-bream 

 one afternoon, the 'fish ceased taking as usual. I then got my lamp 

 ready ; and, by the way, one of the men who was very kindly offering his 

 match-box got quite a shock when it suddenly shone out without the 

 assistance of Bryant & May. I then lowered the lamp to the bottom, 

 thinking that if the above supposition held good (though I had some 



