CHANOS SALMONEUS IN MORETON BAY. I4t 
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF CHANOS 
SALMONEUS IN MORETON BAY ; 
BY 
D. O'CONNOR, Eso. 
(Read on 6th August, 1886.) 
RECENTLY some fishermen netted in the south part of 
Moreton Bay four fish which were quite new to them. 
The Museum fortunately secured one of these, which on 
examination proved to be the celebrated Chanos salmoneus 
of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. This fish has occasionally been 
met with at Port Jackson, and is included in the lists of 
New South Wales fishes by Count Castelnau, Messrs. 
MacLeay, Tenison-Woods, Ogilby, and others. Mr. Teni- 
son-Woods in his chapter on “Fish Acclimatization and 
Pisciculture,” quotes R.R.C. as follows :—‘‘ One other fish 
we would suggest to those who are disposed to introduce 
and acclimatize fishes of a very superior quality. The Chanos 
salmoneus is of the herring family, of large size (two feet 
long), extreme beauty and metallic brilliancy, and of the 
most exquisite flavour. It is found, though rarely, in these 
latitudes, its true habitat being in warmer seas. This fish is 
cultivated and kept in tanks in Southern India and Malacca, 
where it is highly prized and regarded as an expensive 
luxury.” 
Mr. MacLeay says—‘ If a little of the enterprise ex- 
hibited in the efforts that have been made to introduce the 
salmon into our rivers were expended upon the cultivation 
of this fish in our coast rivers north of the Clarence, the 
result, I venture to say, would be more satisfactory.” 
I have repeatedly heard of the existence of a fish on our 
north-eastern coast, whose description accorded strictly 
with that of Chanos salmoneus, though my informants 
invariably called it Barramundi. This name is applied to 
several other Queensland fishes of widely different kinds, 
but always to fish which attain large dimensions. 
In Fiji Chanos salmoneus is found in fresh water, and 
although it is not said whether, in its domesticated state, in 
India it lives in salt water or fresh, we may perhaps 
