6g 
Before spawning the fish collect and form into line in such 
a way that the shoal when complete resembles a large-sized 
whale with a few stray leaders and several loose followers at the 
tail end. Lying closely packed together, the outside body of 
fish seems to provide the propelling power. This huge body 
of fishes rise, sink, and circle by slow movements, and when not 
disturbed will move along just under the surface at long intervals, 
leaving a trail of discolored water which, however, soon settles 
downward, but the oily surface shows the position of the shoal. 
On November ist, 1901, at 8 o’clock in the morning, 1 saw 
eight such shoals in straight lines north and south, a mile from 
the shore. There was a fairly even distance between each 
shoal. The weather being almost calm, these shoals were visible 
until noon. 
How long the process of spawning extends I cannot say, 
as I have not yet seen or heard of a Schnapper being caught 
after spawning, although I surprised the fishing fleet there in 
two other seasons. 
In December of several seasons I have seen eggs of fishes in 
different stages of development moved about in the eddying 
current, and on a calm day rise to within a few inches of the 
surface. There are also a great number of young Schnapper, 
varying in size and weight from i\ to 5 ozs., beautifully shaded 
light pink and grey, with light blue spots. Warnbro Sound 
is rich in marine life, particularly crustaceans and worms for 
fish to feed on, and cuttlefish, squid, crabs, and starfish for the 
larger fish ; in fact, it is an ideal hatching basin, with a depth 
of water from seven to eight fathoms, shelly and muddy bottom, 
protected by a line of reef, and broken only by a few passages. 
From this basin there is little chance of anything under the surface 
being swept away out to sea on account of the eddying current. 
The smallest Schnapper I have seen with ripe roe I caught 
myself at the Sulphur Bay Buoy, Garden Island, in November, 
1898. The fish weighed under 2 lbs. ; and the largest I have 
seen with ripe roe weighed 27 lbs., yet I have seen an “Old Man” 
Schnapper out of season caught in Freshwater Bay, Swan River, 
weighing 31 J lbs. 
