12 PLEUEONECTIDoE OF PORT JACKSON, 



The Fleuronectidcd are all ground Eishes, and except in tlie 

 spawning season, keep in deep water, they moreover seldom, 

 except in the case o£ one species, (" The Flounder ") take a bait, 

 and the only way therefore that they can be captured in their 

 deep haunts, is by the use of the Trawl Net. 



Nets of this kind may be said to have been hitherto untried in 

 these waters, for though one or two efforts in the way of experi- 

 ment in this mode of fishing were made some years ago, they 

 were far from successful, chiefly I believe from the imperfect 

 description of net used. 



Opportunities, I am glad to say, will now soon be given, of 

 fairly testing the productiveness of our deep waters, and the 

 suitableness of our coast for the use of the Trawl. The Grovern- 

 ment, acting upon the recommendation of the Commissioners of 

 fisheries for New South A¥ales, have lately imported a variety 

 of Nets, Lines, and other implements of fishing of the latest and 

 most improved kinds from England, Norway, and America. 

 Among these are two descriptions of Trawl Nets — a large Grrimby 

 Beam Trawl, and an Otter Trawl of 42 feet width of net. 



I was present at a trial of the last named net about a fortnight 

 ago, and it is on the results of that trial, that my present paper 

 is founded. The net was first put overboard off Middle Head, 

 and was raised in North Harbour near Manly Beach, it was 

 again lowered at the mouth of Middle Harbour, and raised 

 opposite Clontarf. On both occasions the net was quite full 

 when raised of a very miscellaneous mass of Ascidians, Sponges, 

 Alga?, Crabs, Cephalopods and other Mollusks. 



The Pishes consisted of Bays — Tlroloplius testaceus, in great 

 number, Rliinohatus tuber culatus or Angel Bay, and Sypnos 

 subnifjrum or Numb Fish. Of Sharks there were a few young 

 specimens of Heterodontus PhilUpil, BL, and Mliina squatina or 

 Angel Shark. There were also specimens of Gallionymus 



