One of the most marked features in the fish-fauna of 

 the Australian Seas is the almost entire absence of the 

 cod tribe {Gaddidd), a family among which the codfish 

 itself, the ling, the haddock, the English whiting, the hake, 

 &c., supply such immense quantities of valuable food, and 

 afford so much employment to thousands of human beings 

 in the Old and New Worlds. This want is, however, 

 amply supplied by members of others families, such as 

 the Mugillidse, Scisenidae, and Carangidae, which visit the 

 Australian shores in vast shoals. From among these, 

 fisheries might be formed, which, if carried on under 

 efficient management, experience, and skill, with a com- 

 paratively small expenditure would, in the future, bid fair 

 to rival the largest and most important in the world. Un- 

 fortunately there are at present no fish-curing or canning 

 establishments in New South Wales. 



With the exception of one species, Retropinna ruhard- 

 sonii, Gill, a species not used for food, the Salmonidae are 

 naturally absent, but this family has been so successfully 

 introduced into the Tasmanian waters, that it is highly 

 probable, ere long, even salmon will form an important 

 article of export. 



With regard to the Clupeida^ (the herrings, pilchards, 

 sprats, and anchovies), the species of this family are very 

 numerous, and occur in quite as large shoals as in any other 

 part of the world. 



When the Mugilidje, the most valuable for canning 

 purposes, but which only occur at a certain season of the 

 year, are gone, there are many other families the members 

 of which are also found in immense quantities, for instance, 

 the Sciaenidae : Sciccna antarctica, and Otolltluis atelodus ; 

 the Sparidae : Chrysophrys australis, C. sarba, Girella tri- 

 cuspidata, G. simplex, and Pagrus iinicolor ; the Carangidae : 



