olS SEALB. 



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

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



On the morning of June 39 of this year I witnessed a most astonishing 

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

 noise like a great waterfall was lieai-d. Hastening to the beach I saw 

 a vast shoal of the fish comijii; fvdm the nortli, keeping quite near the 

 shore; the}- were leaping along llie water in great, flashing waves. The 

 shoal was fully 100 yards wide and ">••<.) yards long; there must have 

 been over a million individuals in it. The fish seemed I" Ije of almost 

 uniform size, about -iO centimeters in length. Nothiiig stopped them. 

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

 stones ; some were driven asliore, but the slioal passed, leaping, on to the 

 south. 



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

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

 ovaries. I should estimate that there ^'l•el•e oxev one hundred thousand 

 pesos' worth of fish in this one lot. 



Several sj^ecies of this family run up the fresli 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 ilindoro. These fish 

 are easily dried and are a good commercial asset. 



OTHER (JUifMERCIAL 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. Ho\v'Cver, among tliese we should mention the barracuda, 

 called panijalonii, or himlannj,- in Horo. This is an abundant and 

 excellent food fish sometitiies reaching the length of l..") meleis. There 

 are also numerous species of porgies, termed hitilla, cutrui, and f/iintul h\ 

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

 they are dried in large numljers. [Many members of the grunt famil)' 

 (Hwmulidw) are also seen, these are termed Icffc, pn.-<'niro, haliil-u, and 

 hagong;^ they are especially valuable for salting and di7ing. 



Several members of the gar family {firloniihv), the croakers (Sria- 

 eiiidrc), tlie parrot-fishes (SrariiJie) , the surmullets (MuUidce.), the 

 mogarras ((lerniJir) and the suldier-fislies (Iloloicntriilrv) occur. All 

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

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

 native, scientific, and Engliali names will l)e found at the end of this 

 article. 



-^Bagong is a general tpjiii applied to any small fisli mixed with salt and partly 

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

 obtained. 



