of about 150 fathoms and in spring follow the transgressions at the surface. When these Atlantic 

 waters have spread over the entire shelf, the bream descend to some distance from the bottom, a 

 little above the hake. These sea-bream "besugos" are very abundant off the Spanish coast 

 but become rarer in the North Sea. 



Alongside the sea-bream there are red mullet with scarlet shades blending with the red or 

 golden gleams from their flanks. The red mullet or surmullet of the Mediterranean (Mullus 

 barbahis) has a convex snout and long barbels hanging from the lower jaw. It is a magni- 

 ficent fish and from a gastronomic point of view is in the lirst rank of all the fishes in the sea. 

 To appreciate the full flavour of its flesh and its distinctive aroma, it must be eaten when freshly 

 caught and grilled without being gutted. The Romans of the Imperial Period, who were unri- 

 valled gourmets, paid fabulous sums to taste surmullet. 



Like the sea-bream, red mullets are among the red fishes of the neritic type and they tend 

 to go to the bottom to root in the mud with their barbels. P.Debrosses has found that spawning 

 takes place in May and June at a depth of about 50 fathoms and in waters with an average 

 salinity of 35"/oo, for these fishes live in the encroaching water masses (transgressions). Young 

 fishes about 2i inches long move coastwards in August, but in November, when about 6i inches, 

 they retire seawards and during the winter grow but little. Red mullet first spawn when two 

 years old and as they grow older gradually move into deeper waters. The males do not grow 

 so rapidly as the females but as these fishes form groups according to size rather than age, the 

 males are surrounded by females younger than themselves. Many die at an age of two years, 

 having only spawned once. However, some females and a few males survive, reaching a length 

 of about 16 inches when about 10 years old, but this is an exceptional life-span. While their 

 normal habitat extends from Ireland to the African coast and the Mediterranean, during warm 

 years they venture into the North Sea. 



The trawlermen carry on sorting their first haul, which has been profitable. Hake, sea- 

 bream and red mullet have already been well stowed and iced, and now they turn to the far 

 more numerous gurnards, fishes belonging to the family Triglidae. These have a large, comple- 

 tely armoured head bearing spines and the eyes are set in projecting orbital arches. The body 

 is covered with fine scales that are smooth or spiny, the feel of the skin being soft or rough 

 according to the species. The head is concave in outbne, while the upper edge of the snout is 

 rounded or sloping. In some species the large outspread pectoral lins look like butterfiies' 

 wings and are set with iridescent blue spots. Furthermore, the lower rays are curiously modi- 

 fied, three of them resembling fingers : the gurnard can use them as legs as it forages along the 

 bottom with its shovel-like snout. 



The numerous species of gurnards are coastal fishes with bottom-dwelling habits. There 

 are pink gurnards with rough, grooved heads; for instance, the imbriago (Trigla imberbis) 

 and the red gurnard (T. ciicuhis). The grey gurnard (T. giirnardns) has greenish or bluish 

 shades on its grey body, while another "rough" species, the piper (T. lyra) is a fine red, with a 

 very long spine behind the gills. Smooth gurnards, such as the tub-fish ("the tomb of the 

 Bieppois", T. hicerna) is brownish or reddish in colour and is the largest species, reaching a 

 length of nearly 2 feet. Another smooth species, the long-finned gurnard (T. obscnra), has a 

 long filamentous ray in the dorsal fin. In the Mediterranean there is another rough gurnard 

 called the cavillone (T. aspera) with a very small greyish body. The armed gurnard (Perisledion 

 calaphradiim ) , also found in this sea, has the body entirely invested with bony plates forming 

 an armour. The snout is deeply notched. This armoured and brilliantly red fish is very agile, 

 running quickly on its finger-like rays and swimming swiftly. On the Great Sole Bank, the 

 grey gurnards form the greater part of the triglids caught in the trawl. 



While the white-belhed fishes are now lifeless, the long, grey-bodied conger-eels (Conger 

 conger) are still active, writhing like reptiles. On sandy bottoms they are pale-coloured : on 

 rocky grounds they are dark. These fishes can reach or exceed a length of 6 J feet. The fishermen 

 are well aware of their powerful teeth, some having had fingers cut off by the fearful jaws of an 

 apparently dying conger, which they have unwarily approached. This "limbless" fish, without 

 pelvic fins, has a single fin encircling the body. It extends deeply down the continental slope. 

 Like its relative the freshwater eel, it undergoes a metamorphosis, but it does not migrate over 



58 Associates of the large sea-anemones : Amphiprion 



percula. Photograph by Giinter Senfft. 



