518 SEALB. 



found wherever there is an abundance of sea moss. The shallow sea 

 about the Island of Sitanki is a famous feeding ground for this fish. 



On the morning of June 29 of this year I witnessed a most astonishing 

 movement of mullet near the Island of Sitanki, Suhi Archipelago. A 

 noise like a great waterfall was heard. Hastening to the beach I saw 

 a vast shoal of the fish coming from the north, keeping quite near the 

 shore; they were leaping along the water in great, flashing waves. The 

 shoal was fully 100 yards wide and 500 yards long; there must have 

 been over a million individuals in it. The fish seemed to be of almost 

 uniform size, about -10 centimeters in length. Nothing stopped them. 

 The natives Jumped into the water and killed hundreds with sticks and 

 stones; some were driven ashore, but the shoal passed, leaping, on to the 

 south. 



These, fish were probably seeking a new feeding ground. They were not 

 breeding, this fact being indicated by the extreme smallness of the 

 ovaries. I should estimate that there were over one hundred thoxisand 

 pesos' worth of fish in this one lot. 



Several species of this family run up the fresh water rivers to the 

 lakes. As many as ten thousand have been caught at one time with a 

 drag-seine near the mouth of the ISTaujan Eiver in Mindoro. These fish 

 are easily dried and are a good commercial asset. 



OTHER COMMEKCIAL FISHES. 



There are many other fishes in the Islands that are of commercial 

 importance, but lack of space and time will not permit of a detailed 

 description. However, among these we should mention the barracuda, 

 called pangaloan or lamhanah in Moro. This is an abundant and 

 excellent food fish sometimes reaching the length of 1.5 meters. There 

 are also numerous species of porgies, termed hitUla, cutout, and gwntul by 

 the natives. These fish are especially abundant about Sitanki, and there 

 thev' are dried in large numbers. Many members of the grunt family 

 (Hcemulidce) are also seen, these are termed leffe, pasinco, hahxilm, and 

 hagong;^ they are especially valuable for salting and drying. 



Several members of the gar family (Belonidce), the croakers (Scia- 

 enidce), the parrot-fishes {Scaridce), the surmullets (Munidw), the 

 mogarras (Gerridce) and the soldier-fishes {Ilolocentrida) occur. All 

 of these are good food fishes and of commercial importance. A pro- 

 visional, but incomplete list of the Philipipine market-fishes, giving the 

 native, scientific, and English names will be found at the end of this 

 article. 



^ Bagong is a general term applied to any small fish mixed with salt and partly 

 dried. Bagong is most commonly eaten in the interior where fresh fish can not be 

 obtained. 



