328 MODERN SEA FISHING 



common tunny, which they resemble in their habits. Large 

 numbers of them often follow vessels, and it has been suggested 

 that they do this thinking to obtain some protection from their 

 great enemy the swordfish. 



One was caught some distance up the river Exe, having 

 been left by the tide on the wrong side of some palings, but 

 very few examples have been captured on the British coasts. 



The BONITO ( Thynnus pelamys) sometimes visits the British 

 coasts, and has been taken in the Firth of Forth. Couch 

 mentions one which was brought into Whitehaven in Cumber- 

 land, and a small specimen 20^ inches long became entangled 

 in a trammel net at Plymouth. In form it very much resembles 

 the short-finned tunny, but may be distinguished by having 

 clearly-defined stripes beginning at the gill covers and run- 

 ning towards the tail. There is a variety (Pelamys sarda), 

 termed the Plain Bonito by Yarrell, in which the stripes or 

 bands are found on the back, and take an oblique direction. 

 This also has been caught on the British coasts, and there is 

 not much doubt that some of the very large mackerel which 

 have been recorded by professional fishermen are small 

 specimens of this fish. It is plentiful in the Mediterranean, 

 the Black Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. 



There is also a bonito without stripes, known to naturalists 

 as Auxis rochei. It is regularly fished for in the Mediterranean 

 during the summer. In shape and the form of its fins it more 

 closely resembles the common mackerel than either the tunny 

 or striped bonito. 



The FLYING FISH (Exoccetus volitans), the favourite food of 

 the great ocean mackerels, is sometimes caught on a hook. In 

 the ' Zoologist ' a Mr. Smith described how, during a voyage from 

 Peru to Callao, a variety of baits were employed in the capture 

 of these pretty creatures, such as pieces of red bunting, artificial 

 minnows, and small spoon baits ; the most successful being a 



