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Newquay. Thirty-five years ago the principal South coast 

 seining fishery was in Mount's Bay, now it is at Mevagissey, 

 and it is no question of new seine fisheries having been 

 established. It is due solely and entirely to a change of 

 habitat on the part of the fish. We have many things yet 

 to learn about the pilchard. 



One thing I have learned since I began to write this 

 paper, is that during the mackerel season (February to 

 June) and before our pilchard season commences, numerous 

 shoals of very large pilchards are met with by our mackerel 

 drivers in the deep sea, eight leagues and over, south and 

 west of the Scilly Islands. These large pilchards are mostly 

 females full of roe, ready to be shed, and unlike most fish in 

 that condition are so dry and tasteless as to be utterly 

 useless as food. A test of their size is that they are taken 

 in the meshes of the mackerel nets. 



Like the mackerel the pilchard is not a true migrant, but 

 comes in from the deep sea, shoaling by day and scattering 

 by night, and remains on for its season. Unlike the 

 mackerel it never takes a bait,* and is but vjry rarely seen 

 in our seas except in its season ; but again, like the mackerel, 

 it is too thorough a nomad to stand the confinement of an 

 aquarium. And those of you who wish to see either of 

 them alive must seek for them in their native haunts. 



* Whilst this paper was in the press information reached me that a 

 pilchard had been captured, hooked in the mouth, on a white-feather 

 whiffing-fly ; but as two other pilchards were at the same time 

 captured, hooked in the side, it is probable that they were all acci- 

 dently hooked out of a shoal through which the whiffing-line was 

 passing. The fish may have been playing with the fly rather than 

 attempting to feed on it. 



