Preface. 



Literature dealing with our local Fish and Fisheries is wanting. 



The members of the Profiteering Commission (1920) who were 

 " impressed and much handicapped by the absence of any recorded 

 information relating to fish and fisheries," made certain recom- 

 mendations for the future control and organisation of the fishing 

 industry and those recommendations have received the approval of 

 the Government. 



With the best will in the world, the task of Legislators and 

 Fishery Officers who have no data or records to guide them, and 

 are therefore unable to discuss our local fish and fisheries except 

 in vague terms, would be as fruitless in the future as it has been 

 in the past. 



Allowing, therefore, that recorded information in the form of 

 a hand-book on Malayan Fishes is wanted and wanted at once, the 

 difficulty arises that there is no one qualified or likely to be qualified 

 for some years to write such a book. 



The ichthyologists are not linguists and the linguists are not 

 ichthyologists. 



This being flie position, the writer has the temerity to offer 

 this small work, which he hopes will be of some temporary service 

 until, in due course, the importance of the Malayan Fisheries has 

 been established and Fishery bulletins written by specialists are 

 produced. 



The inclusion in this volume of several hundred Malay names 

 of fishes, many published for the first time, should lighten the 

 labours of scientists and help the Fishery Officers. 



No fishes have been included which have not been definitely 

 recorded as inhabiting the seas, estuaries and fresh water of the 

 Malay Peninsula. 



The size of the work would have been trebled if fishes of 

 Borneo. Java. Sumatra and the Malav Aivhiivla-ro srenerally, to- 

 gether with Siam and Burma, had been admitted. It is safe to 

 proph.-sy that most of the fishes of those countries inhabit our 

 waters and will be recorded later on. 



This work may be taken, therefore, as dealing, very inadequate- 

 ly, with one-fourth of our fishes only and probably not one-half 

 of the local Malay names have been mentioned. The writer knows 

 very little about fresh water fishes. 



