67 
Captain J. D. CurTIS said he had had considerable 
experience on the West Coast of Africa, including the Gold 
Coast; with regard to the fishing, it appeared to be 
nil on the Gold Coast, for he had had the misfortune to 
cruise up and down there for nine months, in 1851 and 
1852, and never fell in with any fishing canoe. An old 
messmate of his told him that in 1845 or 1848 one of the 
commanders there used occasionally to throw over a trawl 
from the brig, with which they caught sole and turbot, 
which, after supplying the sick, were divided between ‘the 
officers and crew. On the West Coast the fish caught in 
the trawl were mullet, bream, and red fish, called snapper. 
At Loando they caught what were called snappers, or sea 
bream, in about sixty fathoms water, and in Elephant Bay 
there was abundance of grey mullet. In the Portuguese 
Settlements fishing was carried on by cabbage wood rafts 
and canoes, and there was a large establishment in Little 
Fish Bay for drying fish ; they dried in eight or nine days 
in the sun, but unfortunately the wind carried the sand 
over them, and made them rather gritty. At Ambrizette 
a peculiar small double canoe is used. If the Commis- 
sion could impress on the Admiralty the desirability of 
each ship carrying a trawl as well as the seine, there was no 
doubt a great deal of fish could be caught, which would be 
very advantageous to the crews, but unfortunately many 
captains used to think more of their paint than anything 
else, and objected to fishing. He recollected on one occa- 
sion seven porpoises were harpooned in one watch. When 
off Lagos, a quantity of condemned pork being thrown 
overboard, the next day a number of large sharks were 
caught—not like the Arctic shark. He had no doubt 
wherever there was a sandy bottom fish would be found, 
especially at rivers’ mouths. With regard to the turtles at 
[33] F2 
