FLORIDA AND THE WEST INDIES 109 



fully grasped by those who refer to the fishing as 

 if it could be enjoyed only in the States of Florida, 

 Mexico and Texas. It is true that Boca Grande, 

 Tampico and Aransas have hitherto been the 

 chosen spots for tarpon-fishing, and it is also not to 

 be denied that the conditions in those localities are 

 particularly favourable to anglers. At the same 

 time the tarpon has an immense range round the 

 Caribbean, occurring on the coasts, in the rivers, 

 and even in landlocked lagoons of practically the 

 whole West Indian Archipelago. It is also met 

 with on the eastern shore of the Atlantic Ocean, 

 for sportsmen stationed on the West Coast of 

 Africa have often hooked a tarpon, though, owing 

 to faulty tackle, rarely succeeded in catching it. 

 Unlike most herrings, which thrive best in cold 

 seas, the tarpon is a fish of the sunshine. With few 

 exceptions (like the smaller mackerels and mullets) 

 the distribution of a sea-fish is generally propor- 

 tionate to its size. The largest sharks and their 

 vicarious forms range all over the waters of the 

 globe. That gigantic mackerel, the tuna, or tunny, 

 is well known in the Mediterranean and in the bays 

 of California. It is plentiful around the island of 

 Madeira at certain seasons of the year. I had 

 always regarded it as a warm-water fish, but have 

 lately been informed by an officer in the Navy 

 that he has caught it in nets on the coast of 

 Newfoundland. 



Of the tarpon's breeding-time and season of 

 migration very little is definitely known. The 

 spawn has not, I believe, been identified, so that 

 we have no information as to whether it sinks like 

 that of the herring, or floats like that of the 



