merous currents occur, fish may be expected to abound; but as
yet no attempt has been made to extend the fishing beyond the shallow
smooth water at the mouths of our rivers and estuaries.

Not only are many of the Tasmanian fish admirable as articles of food,
but there is every reason to believe that they might be caught in
sufficient numbers to form a valuable export to those countries where
salt fish is esteemed. The best for this purpose would be that commonly
known as the "king-fish" (a species of _alepisaurus_), about the size of
a cod, the _habitat_ of which is still unknown, but which comes
regularly every season, during the months of May to July, into the
shallow waters along the coasts, to spawn. It most probably permanently
inhabits some of the banks in Bass' Strait.

The species considered finest for the table is one called the Trumpeter,
found commonly in the estuary of the Derwent and Storm Bay, but which is
rarely caught on the northern coast. Flounders, gar-fish, gurnett
(_Sebastes maculatus_), and several other species of sea-fish, a bare
list of which would convey little information, are frequently and
usually brought to market.

The rivers of Tasmania are not so well supplied with fish as those of
many other countries. The largest, except an eel, is one called the
black-fish, which, in some of the rivers which discharge themselves into
the sea on the north coast, attains a weight of six to eight pounds.
This fish, it is said, does not exist in the river Derwent, or in any of
its numerous tributaries. The mullet (or fresh water herring) is a fine,
well-flavored fish, weighing usually about five ounces, and is the only
one affording sport to the angler. These, with a species of trout, two
lampreys, and, perhaps, two or three very small species not usually
noticed, complete the list of those which inhabit our streams and lakes.

The colonists are now anxious to introduce the Salmon into the Tasmanian
rivers, for which they seem admirably adapted. Hitherto the attempts
have been made from Scotland, and failed; but it is supposed that the
west coast of North America would afford a more favorable and accessible
station from which to introduce the salmon of that country, which,
although not so highly flavored as the Scotch species, would still be a
most desirable acquisition.

Some species of fish are poisonous at all seasons, as the toad-fish
(_Apistes marmoratus_); others are only occasionally so; and t