28 



H. C. DANNEVIG. 



and detailed data is available, and the figures convey some 

 very interesting information : — 



Table I.— Shewing the Average Catch per man (in baskets equal 75Ibs) each month. 



Waters. 



Jan. 







27 5 



Feb. 

 26-1 



Mar. 



29 8 



Apr. 

 40 4 



May 

 35 9 



Juu. 

 25 4 



July 

 25-3 



Aug. 

 25*6 



Sept. 

 30 6 



Oct. 

 29-6 



Nov. 

 318 



Dec. 



23 8 



Avr. 

 29-1 



Clarence River 



Port Macquarie 



134 



14 5 



13-5 



20-2 



174 



14-5 



13-7 



14-0 



124 



13-6 



14 6 



13-4 



149 



Cape Hawke 



16'6 



20 7 



20-9 



16 7 19-0 



18-6 



20-2 



18-3 



173 



21*9 



17 1 



135 



18-4 



Port Stephens 



12-0 



11 7 



16-3 



20 5 20-1 



20-1 



166 



13 1 



100 



9-4 



87 



104 



13-8 



Lake Macquarie 



13'2 



14-2 



167 



14-6 



15-6 



13'5 



12 8 



12-8 



145 



16-3 



16-4 



12-6 



14-5 



Tuggerah Lakes 



12 8 



16-1 



172 



13-3 



17-5 



217 



170 



119 



10 5 



125 



11 3 



10 1 



14'2 



Lake Illawarra 



193 



19 1 



253 



206 



25 -0 



206 



20-6 



229 



23-9 



15-4 



12-2 



ll'l 



19 4 



Sboalhaven River 



8-5 



96 



111 



11 5 



9-8 



13-5 



145 



12-8 



7-9 



91 



86 



6S- 



10-6 



Clyde River 



3-5 



4'7 



167 



169 



7*9 



114 



87 



5-8 



57 



80 



69 



3*5 



8-3 



Pambula District 



7-4 



15 5 



15*4 



18-3 



137 



188 



10-4 

 179 



7-0 

 166 



70 

 156 



_£8 

 14-6 



96 



14-2 



15-6 

 15-1 



144 



142 



10-0 

 115 



11-1 



Average for all waters... 



13-4 



15 2 



Relative Richness of the Different Waters.— From the 

 last vertical column it will be seen that the average monthly 

 catch varies considerably in different localities; the three 

 most southern waters are the poorest as far as bulk goes, 

 while Lake Illawarra is second best. But in connection 

 herewith, it must be remembered that a small quantity of 

 "choice'' fish is equal to much larger quantities of inferior 

 quality; also that with existing modes of conveyance the 

 fish from distant places realises relatively less in the 

 markets than what is brought a shorter distance. 



Seasonal fluctuation in the abundance of fish.— From 

 the table it will be seen also that the catch is much greater 

 at some periods of the year than at others, although the 

 individual waters show differences in this respect. This 

 exceeding the local average are shown above the line, and 

 will best be seen from Diagram A (Plate I.), where all catches 

 the others below. The richest season of the year is March 

 to May, with April as a climax. This coincides with the 

 sea-mullet season, and the secondary climax in October is 

 mainly due to "prime" fish. The monthly (or seasonal) 

 changes in the richness of the catches do not in any way 

 demonstrate a corresponding fluctuation in the actual 

 abundance of fish. It is merely an indication as to when 

 the fish congregate in convenient places for the nets to be 



