THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 773.— November. 1905. 



FLYING FISH IN MED WAY AND SWALE (KENT). 



By James Murie, M.D., LL.D., F.L.S. 

 (Memb. Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee.) 



Kent Captures. — In the ' Beport on Thames Estuary Sea 

 Fisheries,'* pt. i. p. 125, mention is made of a Flying Fish 

 (Exococtus volitans ?) as follows : — " We have here to add to our 

 district's fish fauna a rare traveller from the Atlantic. This 

 unique example got up the Medway as far as Eochester at the 

 end of September, 1898. A person, noticing a fish leap from 

 the water and skim along the surface, struck out with his 

 walking-stick, and secured it. It proved to be a Flying Fish, 

 measuring fifteen inches in length." 



The above specimen was not seen by me, but from informant's 

 description there is strong presumption of its similitude with a 

 second example more recently obtained in a by-water connected 

 with the mouth of the Medway. 



This latter specimen was caught on Sept. 2nd, 1905, by two 

 Leigh-on-Sea fishermen (Mr. Wesley Bundock and his mate), 

 who were whitebaiting over in Kent waters, not under the juris- 

 diction of the estuarine authorities.! The men were using the 



" :: Issued (1904) by the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee. 



f We may observe en passant that the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries 

 bye-laws forbid whitebaiting during the months of August, September, and 

 October. But this fishery notwithstanding is allowed by the Queenborough 

 Zool. 4th ser. vol. IX-, November, 1905, 2 I 



