A I 'ST UA iJ A X 1'" I s 1 1 !■: K 1 i-:s. 



al)out lOO miles further iiortli, and fxi)cricncc has shown 

 that in this locahty the conditions arc aho^-ether (hiterenf. 

 as an illustration, it may he mentioned that the "Endeav- 

 our"" worked on these grounds Ix'tween the end of 

 lanuarv and the <ju(\ of jime this year, and only tour davs 

 "were lost on account of heavy seas. 



To the south and east from Kan£;-aroo Island (South 

 Australia) is an extensive area of shallow water and clear 

 bottom, but so far the catches have there been too small 

 to warrant the locality bcino- induded amongst established 

 trawlmg grounds. The same is the case with the greater 

 ])ortion of Ilass Strait, where only limited areas have been 

 found to carry fi;h in ])aying (|uantity. 



T h e •• ]{ndeavour "" has so far located approximatel y 

 lo.ooo square miles of trawlable ground carrying fish in 

 paving quantity, and all this area is within reasonable 

 distance of ])rincipal centres. It may at first thought 

 appear impracticable to send a tra\vler 500 miles into the 

 ocean before commencing her operations: l)ut British 

 vessels of similar type travel often two or three times as 

 far; and there is notning to hinder similar Vvork being 

 successfully undertaken in Austialia. It is only a question 

 of carrving capacitv of the vessels and abundance of lish 

 on the' distant grounds. Most of the " Kndcavour"s "" 

 trawling grounds are. however, less than 200 to 250 miles 

 from ^lelbourn'^ and Sydney. 



It has been estimated that the trawl d)lc area of the North 

 Sea is Too.ooo s(|uare iniles. ■ and if it be assumed that 

 Cireat P.ritain has the sole use of these grounds, it equals 

 one sduare mile for every 450 irdiabitants. The same pro- 

 portion has now been established by the " Endeavour "• — 

 10.006 square miles lor 4.500,000 people. It ''vill after- 

 wards l-c shown that the abundance of fish i)er mile com— 

 ])ares verv favi )raldy. 



ABUNDANCE OF FISH. 



It is a well-known fact that no ])articular k>;d of lish 

 remains stationary within the same locality all the year 

 through; tlu\ migrate in accordance with seasons, and 

 sometimes also with age. so that a prolonged -^tudy 01 all 

 circumstances is necessary before a forecast can be made 

 as to where anv particular species may be found in greatest 

 (juantit}" at a given time. 



Hut no information on this ].oint was to k.and regarding 

 the Australian deei)-soa fishes when the "■ Endeavour " 

 tirst c(;nunenced her investigations; and it would only have 



