74 



DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN 



African "coast 

 fisheries. 



When the boats arrive in port they transfer the live fish 

 into big floating- tanks, of which we saw many. We were able 

 to examine the kinds they caught, and learned from the people 

 the names in current use. This was a piece of good fortune for 

 us, because the local guide-books give misleading information. 

 The fish caught are spiny-finned and silvery, or of brilliant 

 colours. The following are the commonest species : — 



Chiacarone = Dentex vulgaris. 



Besugo = Pagrus vulgaris. 



Burr oor Chlerne = Diagranwia 7nediierrafieuf?i. 



Chopa = Canlharus lineatus. 



Saifia = Sargus rotidelettii. 



Dorado = Chrysophrys aurata. 



Most of them are at present sold alive and eaten fresh, but 

 some are salted, being first split down the back and sliced. 



They are also 

 occasionally dried, 

 though this kind 

 of stock-fish does 

 not keep long. 



The harbour 

 pilot was thor- 

 oughly acquainted 

 with the industry. 

 He himself owned 

 one or two 

 schooners, and 

 had taken part in 

 the fishing round 

 the islands and 

 off the African 

 coast. According 

 to him the best 



Fio. 52.— A Basket-Trap ox board a Fishing Schooner. 



places were on the stretch from Cape Juby and beyond Cape 

 Bojador to the River Ouro, and down near Cape Blanco. The 

 trawlers found it too expensive to go so far. Only hand lines 

 and traps are used at present, and most of the fishing is done 

 on a hard bottom in about 16-30 fathoms of water. He advised 

 us to go as far as Cape Bojador, where there was a little bay 

 sheltered from the trade-winds. We decided to follow his advice, 

 partly because we hoped to see a little of the mode of fishing 

 practised in the Canary Islands, and thus learn more about the 

 animal life than we ourselves could expect to learn in the short 



