3 o8 WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



think that the mullet feed on the insects [crustacea ?] which 

 are among the seaweed, but we cannot tell exactly. The 

 shoal of about two tons, which I mentioned last week, is still 

 in view, but are driven about by the porpoises, and we can- 

 not catch them yet." 



" G. C.," continuing the correspondence, wrote : " I think 

 the reason that the grey mullet has extended their visit to 

 the Devonshire coast is the mildness of the past winter. 

 I have a strong conviction that this fish attaches itself to 

 locality. When the Mabel Grace was making the passage 

 daily between this port (Folkestone) and Boulogne, a school 

 of mullet was invariably to be seen disporting round about 

 her, more especially when the warm water was emptied from 

 the condensers, and any that were caught on pollack tackle 

 from the pier-head were always taken shortly after she had 

 left the harbour, which would indicate that they had followed 

 her to beyond the pier-head, and were taken on the return 

 journey to within the shelter of the harbour-pier extension." 



To me the following of a steamer seems rather curious, 

 unless the mullet did so for the sake of the grease that would 

 naturally drain into the sea from such a craft. Day speaks 

 of it as "delighting in shallow water during the warmer 

 weather, snatching at any oily substance that may chance to 

 be floating about." When sailing vessels, coming in after 

 long voyages, were not so rare in Yarmouth harbour as they 

 are to-day, the barnacles and other marine creatures, which 

 were often very much in evidence on their bottoms, would 

 occasionally lure unexpected fishes into the harbour. 



That grey mullet will eat larger morsels is proved by one 

 being taken with a mussel, and another, as recently as 

 November, 1906, on a hook baited with lugworm, although 

 in each case I believe the fish was foul-hooked, the barb of 

 the hook having entered the soft lips of its small mouth 

 without the whole being taken. 



The grey mullet's fondness for small mollusca is proved by 

 Couch's list of shells (quoted from Thompson 1 ), which in- 

 cludes Mytilus edulis, Modiola papuana (small examples), 

 Littorina retusa, Rissoa labiosa, R. parva^ etc. 



****** 



1 Natural History of Ireland^ Vol. IV. 



