JAPAN, CHINA AND THE PHILIPPINES 



fifty more having an area of from one mile upward, making in all a 

 land area of one hundred and fifteen thousand square miles, a 

 water surface to fish on of seven hundred thousand square miles, 

 and a vast and varied coastline of many thousands of miles. 



Its possibilities in the way of angling are seen in the fact that 

 it rises out of deep water, yet there is a shelf of from one hundred 

 to three hundred miles offshore. It lies entirely within the Tropics, 

 yet its lofty mountains, from four thousand to nine thousand feet 

 in height, give it an assortment of cool and delightful climates. 

 It has numerous rivers, as the Cagayan, Agno, Pampanga, Agusan, 

 and Colabata in Mindanao. In their higher reaches black bass 

 have been placed, ^nd trout will foUow. Dr. David Starr Jordan 

 has prepared lists of the fishes of the Philippines, which have been 

 published by the Bureau of Science of Manila, 1910, which show 

 a rich and valuable fauna, practically a virgin field for the angler. 

 In Dr. Jordan's catalogue of species he gives eight hundred and 

 thirty, and states that the actual number to be found here is 

 undoubtedly over sixteen hundred species included in which are 

 some of the finest game fishes of the ocean. 



Previous to the arrival of the Americans in the Philippines, 

 little or no attention had been paid to the subject of angling 

 from the standpoint of sport, or even to developing what un- 

 doubtedly are the remarkably valuable fisheries. It has been 

 found that the islands shores abound in fine game fishes, and I am 

 informed by Mr. Benjamin Folsom, that the finest fishing in the 

 world has been discovered at Apo Eeef , between Mindoro and the 

 Calamianes Islands, not a long trip from Manila. Dean Worcester, 

 the eminent authority on the Islands, was the discoverer of this 

 sea-angler's paradise, where the big barracuda, yeUowtail and 

 many large fishes can be taken with great ease and in vast 

 numbers. In a word, here on the Apo Eeef, is a Western Pacific 

 Santa Catalina for the delectation of the Americans who are 

 now the protectors of the Philippines and who are educating the 

 natives for governmental responsibilities. 



The fishes of this region, while they are tropical, include 



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