70 



NEW SOUTH WALES 



The grey mullets, says Dr. Giinther, numerous in species and indivi- 

 duals, inhabit all the coasts of temperate and tropical climates. They 

 frequent brackish waters, where they find their food, which consists of 

 oi'ganic substances, mixed with sand and mud ; to protect their stomachs 

 and gill-openings they have the pharynx modified into a filtering 

 apparatus. They take in a quantity of sand and mud, and having 

 worked it for some time between the pharyngeal bones eject the useless 

 portions. These bones are coated with a thick soft membi-ane, which rests 

 upon a large fatty mass, giving it considerable elasticity. Another oval 

 mass of fat occupies the roof of the pharynx between the two 

 pharyngeal bones. Each branchial has on each side a series of closely- 

 set gill-rakers, which are bent sideways and downwards, each set closely 

 fitting into the series of the adjoining arch, thus constituting an 

 admirable sieve. " Some seventy species of grey mullet are known, 

 the majority attaining a weight of about 4 pounds. All are eaten, 

 and some are esteemed, especially when taken out of fresh water. If 

 attention were paid to their cultivation, great profits could be made by 

 securing the fry and transferring it into suitable backwaters on the 

 shore, in which they would rapidly grow to a marketable size." — G.S.F., 

 p. 504. 



Two genera only will occupy us, and they are easily distingiiished. 

 Mugil, without teeth ; Mrjxus, with feeble teeth. 



The best known species in New South Wales are the "sea mullet" (Mugil 

 grandis, Castehiau), the " flat-tail mullet" (Mugil Pcronii, Cuv. and Val. ), the 

 " rivei" or hard-gut rrnxWet^' (Mugil dobula, Giinther), and the " sand-mullet or 

 talleygalann " (Myxun elongatus, Giinther). Other species there are, such as 

 Mugil cephalotus, Petardi, comjjressus, argenteus, and acutus, but they are rarely 

 seen and little known, and not therefore classifiable as useful fishes. The first of 

 this list, the sea mullet, is a large fish, attaining when full grown a length of 2 

 feet and a weight of 8 lbs. It is unsurpassed in richness and delicacy of flavour 

 by any fish in the world, the salmon not excepted, and it oQ"ers itself for our use 

 in countless numbers at the very season when it is in the best possible condition. 

 The history of this fish is now pretty well knoAvn, though it will be seen by a 

 perusal of the large amount of evidence printed in the Appendix that there are 

 many very conflicting statements and opinions given. 



To begin with the spawning season : — In the latter end of summer, that is at 

 periods varying from the middle of March to the middle of May, the sea mullet 

 is seen to enter all the harbours and inlets of the coast in successive shoals, some of 

 the most astonishing vastness. It is then full of I'oe, and in splendid condition. 

 When not interfered with by fishermen (for it is a fish easily turned from its 

 course) or diverted by storms or floods, these shoals penetrate to all parts of these 

 inlets, and run up the rivers even into fresh water in search of suitable places for 

 the deposition of their spawn. When a suitable spot is reached, the deposition of 

 the spawn commences, and the process is carried on in much the same way as 

 that of the salmon and other fish of similar habits. Sometimes, however, from 

 bad weather or the persecution of fishermen, the shoals are prevented from 

 seeking suitable spawning grounds, and the fisli being no longer able to retain the 

 spawn, shed it loose upon the water, where it becomes entirely lost. When the 

 ova are properly fertilized and left undisturbed, the young fish make their 

 appearance on the approach of warm weather in spring, when they may be seen 

 in large shoals close to the land and in shallow water. From that period until 

 they become adult, which is probably at the age of two years, they seem to keep 

 entirely to the rivers, lakes, and mud flats, where they thrive and grow with 

 amazing rapidity. When in this half-grown condition they are very inferior in 

 flavour to what they become afterwards, having an oily and muddy taste. As 

 they are without teeth, they are incapable of eating either animal or vegetable 

 substances in the ordinary sense of the term, but they are possessed, Dr. Giinther 

 informs us, of a pharyngeal apparatus which sifts the organic from the inorganic 



