SHOOTING FISH AT FIJI.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3794, 12 September 1883, Page 4

SHOOTING FISH AT FIJI.

A Fiji correspondent, wiling to tho Field, says :■—" Near my house there is a rocky promontory jutting o»t some way into "the sen, with a coral reef round its base ; at high water tliere is sonio 3ft over thin reef, and fish of all kinds conic on it feeding. From the summit of this proni'.ntory—wliioh is about 70ft high—there is a capital view of the reef, and as the clear water hides it no more than though it was covered by a. sheet of plato glass, the fish and their movements are jdainly visible. From tho elevated spot, armed with a Martini-Henry rifle, it doe.s not require a very good shot to put a. bullet over the fish in the" water below. It is wonderfulwhat destruction the concussion of the bullet, ■with tho water causes among a .shoal of Hinall fish. I have killed ninety-eight with one shot. The bullet only actually touched one or two; tho rest, were completely stunned, and .several had their eyes forced out. These ninety-eight fish weighed 20lb. Mullet, that come past in great numbers and keep on the surface, afford most excellent shots, and are most numerous- victims. A curious kind of worm, about. Gin. long, and of tho thickness of a piece of ordinary .string, rises apparently from out of the coral reefs twice every year. They aro called balolo, and mako'their first appearance in October, ■which month Ihe natives call '.Bainlo luilai,' or "little balolo," as the worms appear in only a .small quantify. They appear again in vast, numbers about November 25th, and give that month the name of 'balolo lovu,' or 'great balolo.' The natives can fell almost th<> day when these -worms will appear, and by keeping men on the look-out for a whitc-and-red S'imii which appears on the water just before the balolo rise, rarely miss thorn. Thoy appear about low water, covering the sea ■with a writhing, wriggling mass. As tin; tide rises they drift in great numbers shoreward, and are baled up by the natives in Bin all hand nets. They are very excellent eating, but very rich. The Fijians devour lingo quantities', and faithfully hear in mind their balolo proverb, 'E kna gona ni balolo, me no kua sara ' : which means, ' If you don't eat bnlolo now, it will be v loNg lime before you do.'"