THE FISHERIES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume V, Issue 128, 17 November 1853, Page 2

THE FISHERIES OF NEW ZEALAND.

So many topics or local interest have, of late, engrossed our pages, that we have been altogether unable to complete the sketches of the natural history of the several kinds of fish, said to inhabit the New Zealand waters, whose capture, both as articles or. the food and or commerce, il is so essential to insure.

Travellers, in detailing llio means and faculties of living in countries they arc generally niiniito in their information respecting the quantity and quality of fish the' markets supply; for the abundance, and excellence of fish is not more to be desired by the wealthy and the luxurious, than it is of importance to the poorer classes of the community, to whom the ocean may be made to furnish a pleasant ami cheap supp'y of wholesome food, and at a price well calculated to repay the industry of the Usher. Thai we, ere long, shall have fishermen and fisher boats industriously and profitably plying their trade, and that cured fish is destined to become one of the remunerative articles of New Zealand export, we cannot , for a moment question. Hut, in the meal." ; while, we must needs regret thai, with animal hind, only purchasable at famine prices, thai is to say, ill from Sd. to lOd. per pound—there should be no fisheries in existence;—nay. that lish should so long continue to be a rariiv scarcely procurable at all. Having already given a history of the cod and the herring,— those Uvo great sources of the wealth ainl maritime anil commercial pre-eminence of (.real Britain, —we now proceed lo narrate the character and means of fishing for the sole, that being lire next on the list of the friend who transmitted us the information of the dillercnt descriptions existing on the coasts. ! 'l'm: Soi.r. is a delicious and much esteemed fish, and is most abundant upon thesaudy shores of Kugland. It keeps close to the, liollom preying on the smaller testaceous animals, and thcTspawn, and fry of other fish- . es. Il is also an inhabitant of various other parts of Kurope and America; and, «e, rejoice to hear, of New /.calami. The form ! of the body is a a long oval, widest at a short distance; behind the head, becoming gradu- : ally narrower ami rather pointed towards i tin'; tail. Il sometimes grows lo the length , of two feel, ami to the weight of six or eight pounds: its general si/.e, however, is much smaller. lis colour is obscure brown > above, and white heuealli. it is covered with I small rough scales, each terminated by nilmerous spines, and very strongly fastened to the skin. The head is'small; the eyes and mouth or moderate si/.e; both jaws furnished | with minute teeth on the under or while side of the lish only The flesh is remarkablv linn while anil well favoured. Soles seldom take any bail, bill are almost entirely taken by trwi-liiiy, —an operation which is performed by dragging a particular description of net attached lo a sailing boat, along the bottom. Tin: I'l.ou.MiKt:, although greatly inferior to the sole is likewise esteemed. 1V is a well known fiat fish, and, occasionally, very abundant in Ihe Auckland market; the llounder of our waters ; s much superior lo those of Kurope, the flesh being firmer and better flavoured. It is lo be regretted that there is not a much larger and more constant supply of this fish. At ihe present moment they would be. largely and eagerly purchased. Tin: Jon.-s Donv is distinguished by its large and long head, its dusky green colour, accompanied by a twany gill tinge, and particularly liv a large, oval, dusky spot, on each side the body: the mouth is wide, the lower jaw longer than the upper, the teeth small and sharp, and ihe eyes large; ihe whole body is covered with very small scales, and marked by a curved lateral line, which, descending rather suddenly from the gillcovers—passes on to the tail: the back is much arched, and furnished with a row of strong small prickles, which arc also continued along the curve or the abdomen: the tail is of a moderate size, and rounded al ihe end. The Dory is of an extremely voracious nature, preyingon ihesmaller fishes and their spawn, as well as on various kinds of Crustacea and marine insects. The form of the Dory is so extremely forbidding that in ancient "times people were deterred from tasting if, its flesh, however, is now considered most delicious food, and the fish is highly prized in ihe English markets. In general il is from twelve lo fifteen inches in length and of the weight of ten or twelve pounds. In a future paper we shall conclude our sketches of the fish of other countries known to inhabit the New Zealand waters, by a few details connected with the propagation and improvements of oysters, —a subject which has elicited the anxious consideration of all nations and countries, and which might be studied with great comfort and profit to tl\e I people of New Zealand.