NOTES ON THE EDIBLE FISHES 



OP 



NEW ZEALAND, 



The knowledge we possess respecting the Natural History of the fishes 

 ai'ound the New Zealand coast is veiy imperfect, as our opportunities 

 for obsei'vation have hitherto been confined to the shallow waters of 

 harbours, oi to the vicinity of rocky promontories. 



Of the deep sea fish, and those which frequent banks and shoals 

 at a distance from the coast, nothing has been ascertained by exploration, 

 and the existence of several important species that frequent such locali- 

 ties is only known from specimens which have been cast on the shore 

 during heavy storms. Those most familiar to us are, therefore, either 

 shallow water or rock fish, so that their distribution round the eoast 

 must depend greatly on the temperature of the superficial currents, 

 and the character of the sea bottom in proximity to the shore line. The 

 influence of the latter condition is familiar to all fishermen, the rocky 

 pai-ts of the coast furnishing different kinds of fish from those found in 

 the shelving sandy bights and shallow inlets ; but the invisible boun- 

 daries ci'eated in the open sea by sudden changes in the temperature of 

 the ocean define the range of many species of fish, in a way which is 

 not less important. 



This is effected chiefly by regidating the distribution of their favourite 

 kinds of food. Thus, swarms of Medusiie, Mollusca, and larval Crustacea, 

 crowd the seas round our coast duringthe summer months, attracting shoals 

 of small fishes, which again are pursued liy those of predacious habits, so 

 that many kinds visit our shores at that season, which are absent during 

 the colder months of the year. Many valuable fishes which, from tlu'ir 

 occurrence in large migratory shoals are of greatest commercial im})or- 

 tance, appear to feed chiefly on those lower forms of marine life which 

 have only an ephemeral existence dependent on the character of the 



N 



