FISHERIES OF THE ORIENTAL REGION. 



By the Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, F.G.S., F.L.S., &c. 



Plates IV, and v. 



By the Oriental region is meant the seas within the tropics on 

 noth sides of the equator from the longitude of the Himalayas to 

 the Yang-tse-kiang including the islands east of Wallace's line, 

 at least as far as about the meridian of the Caroline Group, the 

 Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. With 

 the exception that the east and west meridional boundaries are 

 arbitrary, the region included forms more or less a true zoological 

 marine province and corresponds nearly with Dr. Giinther's Indian 

 region. It may also be called the Malaysian region, for the greater 

 portion of the land included in it, with the exception of North 

 Australia, is inhabited by Malay races. 



In dealing with the fisheries of this region, however, it is not so 

 much with Malay as with Chinese fishermen that we have to do. 

 All that is interesting and all that is systematic throughout 

 the province is accomplished by Chinese immigrants who have 

 scattered themselves far and wide on these coasts. It is tx'ue to 

 say that in Malaysia the Malay races confine their fishing with 

 few exceptions to their own wants, while the fishing operations of 

 the Chinese are for the purposes of trade and commerce. Few 

 who are not intimately acquainted with the Chinese character can 

 appreciate their extraordinary aptitude for business and trade, and 

 a slight experience of the conditions of life in Malaysia readily 

 explains why fishing absorbs so much of the labour of the coolies 

 who settle on the coast. It scarcely requires explanation, but a 

 few words on the subject will Vje of interest. 



