THETARPON 33 



at most twelve feet would seem to be the limit, but it is 

 destructive to one's judgment to see a mass of molten 

 silver suddenly shoot from an azure sea with a great 

 flurry of water and project itself into the air to a 

 towering height close by the boat. One's estimate on 

 such a performance is apt to be distorted and untrust- 

 worthy. 



The tarpon leaps from fear, if a fish can be said to 

 have fear, to escape an enemy, to throw off remoras 

 or sucking fish, and also for pure enjoyment. It will 

 habitually come to the surface and blow and roll, as 

 the phrase is, without attempting a leap. When in 

 this mood it is usually hard to induce it to take the 

 bait. It leaps to a^vfoid the shark — ^its ancient enemy 

 since the Mesozoic. It steals or dashes upon schools 

 of muUet and other small fish, usually seizing them by 

 the tail (Gill). It will follow these schools up fresh 

 water rivers and along shallow places near shore. Dr. 

 Townsend reports that the captive tarpon in the N. 

 Y. Aquarium took the fish fed them "with a sidewise 

 snap." Its hard mouth is well adapted to feed on 

 crabs which in season is a favorite bait. 



The indiscriminate capture of its principal food, the 

 mullet, by net fisherman all along its range in the semi- 

 tropic seas, will surely have a serious effect upon its 

 future welfare and numbers. Many other fish love to 

 feed upon the mullet and their netting during the 

 spawning season should be stopped both in the interest 

 of sport and also to conserve the rapidly decreasing 

 schools of mullet, a very important food fish for the 

 South. 



