FISHES OF THE BAHAMAS, JAMAICA 



ellipse, extending twenty-five nules northeast and southwest, and 

 thirteen the other way, the main island being on the southeast 

 edge of the ellipse with a more or less continuous line of twenty- 

 five or twenty-six miles. The main islands are five in number, 

 separated by little channels, narrow but with fifteen or twenty 

 feet of water, and abound in bays and indentations, shallow 

 lagoons and various nooks and corners for the wonderful fishes 

 of the region. 



The reef proper comes within a thousand feet of the main 

 islands to the south, but on the north side it is from five to nine 

 nules distant ; the region between being an angler's delight, 

 abounding in miniature keys, submerged and partly submerged 

 reefs, coral ledges, and masses of coral lime-stone ; a region filled 

 with a wealth of animal life ; a fascinating place to drift over 

 with rod or spear, or even with open eyes. The central or inner 

 portions of the atoU range in depth from seventy to one hundred 

 feet, in all constituting a natural home for the tropic and semi- 

 tropic fishes, whose pursuit is the chief industry of the majority 

 of the negro population of over seven thousand and some whites. 



The angler wUl find at the quays of Hamilton and St. George 

 many fishing-boats equipped with wells, from which the fishes 

 are sold alive and fresh ; and one obtains a definite idea of the 

 wealth of material. Here are several kinds of angel-fishes {Holo- 

 canthus), which I have often taken, requiring a very small but 

 very stout hook, their broad sides presenting a resistance that is a 

 surprise to the angler. The hogfish, yellowtail and the many 

 snappers are fine fishes. 



The Bermudas are the most northern islands of the coral 

 reef and the northern limit of the tropical fishes of the Atlantic. 

 Professor G. Brown Goode gives twenty-five species as common 

 to Bermuda and the West Indies ; half a dozen or more found 

 in Bermuda, West Indies and Madeira, Cape Verdes, West Africa, 

 St. Helena, and the river Amazon. Many are common to these 

 localities, Brazil and Ascension Island, all due to the Gulf 

 Stream, in which I have often drifted off the Bermudas or 



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