182 EDIBLE FISHES OF NET^^ SOUTH WALES. 



Charlotte Sound, and are caught in large numbers, and converted into the 

 liighly esteemed Picton Herring." Mr. Pell is quoted by Sherrin as 

 saving : — " The fish is found all round Queen Charlotte Sound, and also the 

 adjoining Pelorus, but is only caught here (Picton) . Generally it is believed 

 that thev do not extend outside, but my lialf'-eastc fisherman maintains that, 

 if sought for properly, they would be found all round Blind Bay, and in the 

 Strait. They are not easy fish to find unless they are rushing to the 

 surface, which is not often, and is a most peculiar sight. These Her- 

 rings are in Queen Charlotte Sound during the whole year, but only 

 come into shallow bays during the winter. At that time of year they keep 

 together in large shoals, but in summer time they keep more apart, and are 

 sometimes caii2;ht then, though rather hard to find. No systematic fishing 

 goes on during the summer; the fish prefer colder water, and thus leave the 

 shallow bays when spring sets in. They spawn during summer, and are 

 always full of roe about Christmas time, and then keep in small shoals. As 

 to the probable numbers visiting the Sound it is difficult to say, but four 

 smoke-houses were kept going all last winter (1882). The hauls made 

 average from one and a half to two tons, but at times ten tons have been 

 landed." Sherrin remarks : — " They appear only occasionally in the Dunediu 

 market. They are very abundant in the Auckland waters, and especially so 

 at the Thames, which Mr. AVilson considers to be one of the best fishing 

 stations in the Colony. They come in large shoals, but no attempts have 

 been made to catch them." Mr. Donald Sutherland states that " there are 

 large shoals of Pilchards at the head of Milford Sound. They are from six 

 to ten inches long, and finished spawning en the second or third of Decem- 

 ber. Tons of them are on the beach in Freshwater Basin." 



The above is practically all we know of a species which, witb little expen- 

 diture of energy and capital, might be made a source of almost incalculable 

 wealth to those Colonies on whose shores it occurs in such prodigious 

 numbers. 



Beyond the limits of the Australasian Colonies this species has still a 

 wide range, being found in the seas of Japan, and along tlie Pacific coast of 

 America, from the stores of California to those of Chile. 



Thev attain a length of at least ten inches. 



CLUPEA SUNDAICA. 



Clupea sundaica, Bleek. Atl. Ichthyol. Clup. p. 105, pi. cclxxi. f. 5 ; 

 Macleav, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, iv. p. 373 ; Woods, Fisher. 

 X. S. Wales, p. 8G. 



Herring". 



Plate XLTI. 



B. vi. D. 18. A. 20-21. Y. 8. P. 15. C. 19. L. lat. 44-i5. L. tr. 12. 



Length of head 4-90-5-25, of caudal fin 3-G6-4-25, height of body 3-60- 

 ■i'OO in the total length. Eye rather large, with the adipose lid equally 

 developed before and behind, just or not quite reaching to the pupil, its 

 diameter from 2'90-3"10 in the length of the head : snout obtuse, 1"30-1'40 

 in the diameter of the eye : interorbital space flat, 1'20-1'40 in the same. 

 Nostrils approximate, situated nearer to the tip of the snout than to the 

 orbit, the anterior minute and circular, the posterior large and subcrescentic. 

 Upper surface of head flat, bordered by a raised ridge, wliich is split up into 

 numerous stria; on the outer margins of the opercles. Chin prominent. Cleft 



