lO 



ArSTKAI.lAX FlSTIlCia l".S. 



])ccn 1 V cxcc].'li(inal luck and chance if at any time she 

 happened to l)e examining- a locaHty at the time oi its 

 •' fnllness." This is not at all pi-obal)le, and it follows the 

 " Endeavour's " catches do not represent the maximum 

 that might l)e laken within any one locality after its o-ood 

 and bad periods have been ascertained. vSuch knowledge 

 is now being- gained, and will be of exce]3tional Aalue to 

 the commercial fisherman. 



.Another circumstance re(|uiring nunlion is that the 

 purpose with the " Endeavour " is to ascertain t:ie alum- 

 dance of fish in the vaiious localities rather than 

 making a big haul within any one area, where fish happen, 

 for the time beinii, to be plentiful; so, for this reason also, 

 the " Endeavour's " average catches are tons'derally below 

 what a commercial vessel would secure when devoting its 

 attention to the richest grounds con.tinuously. 



These limitations notwithstanding, however, it w II be 

 seen that the " Endeavour's " results are not onl\- higldy 

 satisfactory, but that thev compare favorably \vith the 

 average catches obtained in the Xorth Sea b}' the commer- 

 cial vessels of modern type, and workmg in accordance 

 with a long-estabdished experience as to the m'grations of 

 the fish. 



For the purpose of giving a general view as to the relative 

 alundance of fish witliin the various localities, the fishing- 

 grounds have in the following tables been divided into 

 main sections as follows. — 



A. The Eastern or T'acific area, and 

 I!. The Great .Vustial'an I light fishing grounds. 

 The former has been further subdivided into — 



(1) The northern section, or grounds between Gabo 



Island and vSychiey, and 



(2) The grounds to the south and west from (jabo 



Island, extending eastwards from Flinders fsland 

 to Tasmania. 



'I'he grounds located in the Great Australian Ihght have" 

 been subdivided into two se'Ctions, viz.: — 



(3) The edge of the shelf, in de])ths var}-ing from So 



to 120 fathoms, and 



(4) The deeper section extending beyond 2C3 falhcnns. 



The Gabo to Sydney section has been examinecl during 

 the whole or part of t6 difYerent cruises at varying inttr- 

 vals between A]M-il, 1909, and August, 1913. During this 

 l^eriod the trawl was on the bottom for 228} hours, ana 

 ])ro(luced a tot d of 84.721 lbs. of niarketa])le fish, or at the 

 rate of 371 lbs. ])er hoir; of fishing. 



