. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 461 



the wants of the younger fishes, especially in the sheltered bays of 

 Misida, Marsascala, and Marsascirocco, where the Phucagrortis occu- 

 pies a large area. These bottoms are called "ghejun" by the Maltese. 

 To these grounds most of the gray mullets run up to deposit their 

 spawn, and when hatched the young fish remain several mouths on 

 the same bottoms to attain their full growth, and on these grouuds the 

 gobies ("imzazcn") build up their nests. 



With the view of preventing these fish from beiug improperly de- 

 stroyed, and of protecting especially spawning and immature tish, the 

 use of the above-mentioned destructive nets was prohibited on such 

 areas so munificently supplied with auimal life. When such imple- 

 ments are drawn along the bottom, the Phucagrortis, which is very 

 brittle, is broken in fragments, which by their decomposition give off 

 gases inimical to animal life; stones are removed under which small 

 fish seek concealment and safety; the mud is disturbed, rendering 

 turbid the water, which thus becomes unfit for the maintenance of 

 animal life; a considerable number of the fish are caught and others 

 are destroyed ; the nests of gobies with their contents are disturbed ; 

 and thousands of invertebrates, which constitute the chief food of the 

 fish, are also destroyed by these nets. 



I cannot conceive how Mr. Zammit could have gone solar as to assert 

 that he does not believe in the possibility of destroying the spawn and 

 small fish by any existing method of fishing. He quotes authorities 

 and facts which are not applicable in our case, for Professors G. O. Sars 

 and A. W. Malm (1876) refer to the fisheries off the coast of Norway, 

 •where most of the esculent species in special demaud (as the cod) do 

 not deposit their spawn on the bottom, but drop it in the water at a 

 considerable distance from the bottom. 



It is also well known that the mackerel spawn ("cavall") is specif- 

 ically lighter than sea-water, and that consequently it floats on the sur- 

 face like that of the cod. I attribute the fluctuation in the reproduc- 

 tiveness of this species, which ten years ago was caught in great shoals, 

 and which is now seldom seen in onr markets, to the facility with which 

 its ova can be destroyed either by fish or birds. From these facts Mr. 

 Zammit deems himself authorized to establish general rules and con- 

 sider useless all fishing regulatious. " There is no doubt,-' says Mr. 

 Holdsworth, "that if some species spawn on the surface, others spawn 

 at the bottom of the sea." I refer Mr. Zammit to the works of my friend 

 Prof. A. Costa, of Naples, who has giveu full details of the favorite 

 places of fishes for depositing their spawn, with the view of showing 

 him that his conclusions are not bas d on scientific observation. I have 

 never seen floating eggs in the harbors and creeks of Malta, or aquatic 

 birds preying on them, during 26 years of careful investigations, espe- 

 cially in the Bay of Marsascala. I do not believe that there are any 

 good grounds for complaining that the above-mentioned nets should 



