P. Taomson.—Our Fish Supply. 883 
Of the regular food fishes the following notes may be of interest :— 
The Hapuka or Groper was in pretty regular supply from the close of 
September till towards the end of June. The demand for this fine fish is 
not half so great as it should be. It wasin the market 157 days. 
Ling has been in rather irregular supply during the year. For a few 
days this fish would be quite common, and then for a week or a fortnight 
there would be none at all, and this quite irrespective of the weather. Was 
79 days in the market. 
Kahawai was in good supply for a few days in January, and occurred 
again in March, 
Snapper was brought to town in summer and autumn, but the catch 
was limited to a few individual specimens, all of good sizes. 
Moki was constantly to be found in the market, a few days at a time, all 
through the year, though most numerous in the summer months. Was in 
the market 105 days. 
Trumpeter was in rather short supply during the year, very few having 
been received from the southward. 29 days in the market. 
The Barracoota made its appearance on the 29th October, when a 
solitary specimen was caught, followed by abundance on the 81st. It 
continued in season till the end of May, although one was caught by net in 
the Lower Harbour on the 19th of June. Was 109 days in the market. 
A few Frostfish were caught (I should rather say picked up, for the fish 
is never caught in the ordinary sense of the word) in August, and again in 
April; but towards the end of June and nearly all July large numbers of 
this fish were brought to town, one dealer passing no fewer than 109 
through his hands in a fortnight, mostly brought from the vicinity of 
Purakanui. On all the beaches to the west of the Heads, and away to the 
north, particularly about Moeraki, large numbers were got. Nothing is 
yet definitely known as to why this fish comes ashore in the peculiar way 
it does, but I may give you the latest theory as it appeared in one of the 
papers here a week or two ago. The writer said:—‘‘ The stranding of 
these fish is accounted for from the fact that, not being well supplied with 
fins, they swim with an undulating motion, like that of the leech, the head 
being elevated. In cold weather they follow their prey into shallow water, 
and when the tail touches the ground they become helpless, and are 
washed ashore.” The writer was very easily crammed. It is a noticeable 
fact that all the fish are about the same size—4} feet to 5 feet in length. 
In the market 28 days, being the longest known. 
Blue Cod.—This staple fish was in fair supply nearly all the year, with 
the exception of some weeks in winter, when there was some severe 
weather, which put a stop to outside fishing. The supply Tr Stewart 
Island was very irregular. Was 65 days in the market. 
