riSH AND nSHEKIES. 95 



"The wobbegong is of little use ; the liver will make some oil, and 

 which is particularly good for parasites on animals, but the fish is not 

 sought after, and the natives attack it when in their way, but do not 

 meddle with it otherwise. South, as far as Jervis Bay, they call this 

 fish thubbegong. " 



The Blue Pointer. 



Lamna glauca or the Blue Pointer is, Mr. Hill tells us, " not only a 

 very powerful but perhaps the most bold of any of the large sharks 

 visiting our shores. It grows to the length of 10 or 12 feet, but is not 

 so big in the girth as the other. On the appearance of a ' blue pointer' 

 among boats fishing for schnapper outside, tlie general cry is raised 

 ' Look out for the blue pointer.' This fish exhibits cunning, and seizes 

 the hooked fishes when they are near to the surface, at which time they 

 are nearly exhausted, and bites them off just below the hook in an 

 instant, leaving only the head, which has the appearance of being cleft 

 ofi" "with a very sharp instrument. 



" The great danger of these fishes is that in their speed and blinded by 

 the eagerness of pursuit they may miss the object and go clean tlu-ough 

 the boat, or into it, as they have been known to jump high into the air. 

 In such a case the whole crew would in all probability be destroyed by 

 this one's attendants. Sometimes they have been known to leave their 

 teeth in the hardwood of the keel or stern-post of the boat, no doubt 

 having missed their aim, but when this occurs they make the boat shake 

 from stem to stern. 



" These are high-swimming fishes, and may be readily seen when about 

 pushing their pursuits ; the beautiful azure tint of their back and sides 

 and independent manner they have of swimming rapidly and high 

 among the boats in search of prey are means of easy recognition, and 

 they often drive the fishermen away. They have a longer and sharper 

 nose than the 'sea shark' or 'nurse,' and appear to be very active, 

 and bold enough to come straight on after they have had a good blow ; 

 they appear to be very keen of scent, and altogether they are objects of 

 interest. Various people in this as well as in other Colonies have been 

 fearfully mutilated by sharks, sufiicient in some instances to cause death 

 very soon." Scarcely a year passes that some fatal occurrence is not 

 recorded from sharks on some part of the coast. 



The Grey-Nurse. 



The " nvirse" here referred to is Odontapsis ainericamcs, about which 

 the same author gives many interesting facts. He says " it attains the 

 length of 15 feet, with a much larger girth in proportion tb other sharks; 

 but the females which have been caught were not so long — 8 to 1 2 feet — 

 with an exception or two where they have been longer. There are 

 incidents of interest connected with its season and capture worthy of 

 note. 



" This shark in appearance is comparatively short. That, however, is 

 accounted for by its great girth, for I have known the length of a nurse 

 to be 12 and its girth 7 feet. They have a longer and more pointed nose 

 than the sea-shark, and the eye and nostril are in a straight line. The 



