130 NEW SOUTH WALES 



and thirty dozen "count" fish (i.e., fish weighing each 6 lbs. or over), 

 were often taken by two fishermen on these grounds. Now, however, 

 both the schnapper and the net grounds about Broken Bay have fallen 

 ofi'in their productiveness to an alarming degree, and through the opera- 

 tion of the same destructive agencies which have brought about the 

 impoverishment of the Port Jackson and adjacent fishing-grounds. 



Being however quite out of the beat of any constable and not readily 

 accessible except by water, and possessing in other respects features 

 favourable for the prosecution of net-fishing by fishermen not always 

 over-scrupulous in obeying the directions of our laws with reference to 

 size of mesh or other statutory restraints, the Broken Bay fishing- 

 grounds are still much resorted to. At the present time the number of 

 boats frequenting them is estimated by a competent witness at about 

 twenty-five on an average of the year. 



Many freights of valuable fish are thrown away or abandoned and 

 left to rot on the beaches about Broken Bay during the summer months, 

 and not unfrequently in the colder months. This happens when the 

 fisherman coming down the river with his boat fully laden finds a strong 

 southerly wind blowing in the offing. He has no means of taking his 

 fish to market overland, altliough the distance from the head of Pitt- 

 water to Manly cannot be more than about 12 miles. Accordingly, un- 

 less the head wind takes off" or veers to a favourable quarter within 

 twenty-four hours at most, he cannot possibly expect to save his freight, 

 unless he have the good luck to catch the steamer which makes occasional 

 visits to Broken Bay. 



If the line of the proposed Northern Railway extension to Sydney 

 should happen to cross the Hawkesbury at any point within 10 miles 

 of Broken Bay, enormous losses of fish by stress of weather will be 

 prevented, as the fish caught in the lower waters of the river or on the 

 outside grounds may then be easily and I'apidly transported to market 

 by rail. 



The most important fishing-grounds lying between Broken Bay and 

 the southern limit which we have given to the home fisheries are, after 

 leaving Little Head, the schnapper grounds, situated at varying distances 

 from all the main headlands, such as the South Head of Broken Bay, 

 Bungy, Little Reef, Nari-abeen, Long Reef, Deewhy, Curl Curl, and 

 North Head (Port Jackson). There are at least a score of known 

 "school fish" grounds within these limits, i.e., about 12 miles. Vast 

 quantities of fish have been taken on every one of them, especially along 

 the line of submerged rocks known as Long Reef, which can be traced for 

 a distance of more than 5 miles from the shore, and on the wide grounds 

 oS Narrabeen. Narrabeen is the bight or bay which lies immediately 

 to the north of Long Reef Point, and marks the small and rarely navig- 

 able sea mouth of the lagoon known by the same name. Other lagoons, 

 such as Deewhy and Curl Curl are found in this locality, but none are 

 of such extent or importance as Narrabeen which in times past has been 

 a very productive netting ground. A few " bumboras " are found in 

 this bight, and they (like all " bumboras " on the coast) have been and 

 still are the favourite resort of the schnapper-men during particular con- 

 ditions of the currents. 



