70 THE GAME FISH OF MOMBASA AND MALINDI 
from the photo, it could not have weighed less than 80 lb. 
This was stated to be a small one ! 
Gunther (p. 482) states that sword-fishes attain to a 
length of from twelve to fifteen feet, and native fishermen at 
Malindi assert that they frequently have to cut away their 
lines when a large specimen is hooked, so fierce are their 
attacks on the boat. 
The ventral fins, which are in the form of two long styliform 
appendages, fit into a deep groove in the belly extending to 
the vent, which would seem to be a provision of nature to 
permit of the fish resting on the bed of the ocean, for, owing to 
the length and bony nature of these fins, this would otherwise 
be impossible. The Swahilis give them the name of ‘ Frasi 
ya Bahari,’ and the Arabs that of ‘ Sulsuli.’ They are taken 
trolling. In calm water they are said to erect the dorsal fin 
and to sail on the surface. 
Whilst the above list comprises what may be termed the 
game fishes of Mombasa and Malindi waters, or at least those 
that have come under the personal notice of the writer and 
from exhaustive inquiries from natives, there are several 
species of Sparidae and Percidae that occasionally take a 
moving bait. Drifting along slowly on a calm morning, I 
have repeatedly hooked and landed specimens of both these 
families ; and only quite recently when entering Mombasa 
harbour and sailing with a strong following wind at quite seven 
knots, I hooked and landed a red fish, weighing 11 lb., which I 
took to be a species of Lethrinus. 
When ‘ trolling ’ with rod and line becomes more popular 
in Mombasa waters (and there are signs of its rapidly becoming 
so), no doubt more varieties will be added to our already varied 
list of sporting fishes. Very little help in this direction, I fear, 
can be obtained from native sources, but readers can assist 
materially in forwarding any photos or measurements of 
fish (caught in the above manner) to the editor for publication 
in the Journal. 
The main points essential for scientific classification are : 
1. The number of spines and rays in dorsal and anal fins. 
2. Number of scales from gill opening to caudal fin along 
lateral line. 
