Notes on the Fishes of the District of the Land's End.
By R.Q. Couch, Esq., M.R.C.S.E.
Having read with much pleasure the papers on the habits and mi- grations of birds, lately inserted in the 'Zoologist,' I readily comply with your wishes of recording in the same work a few reminiscences of the fishes on the Cornish shores. These notices cannot be so full as those of your ornithological correspondents, since they refer to creatures removed from the constant observation of man, while theirs refer to such as may be seen in their daily occupations and pleasures. But though not so full, they may, I hope, be at least inte- resting, since if little be said, it will be on a subject which cannot be commonly studied, and of which not very much is known.
Mr. Yarrell's valuable work on British Fishes has given an impetus to the investigation, and supplied us with most that was known up to the time of its publication. The following notices are the results, either of personal observation, given on the authority of the fishermen, or such persons who, from habits of observation, can be relied on. It is not intended to give a systematic account of each species, but merely to refer to their habits, migrations, and such facts as may be either new or confirmatory of Mr. Yarrell's text, with occasional traits of their personal biography. If such a plan meets your appro- bation, it is the one that shall be pursued in the following pages.
Bass, Perca labrax. This is a common fish in Mount's Bay, and in the sandy nooks round the Land's End to St. Ives' Bay. It is with spawn about July and August. When young, it congregates in large companies, which roam about from spot to spot, especially on the sandy ground found at the entrances to rivers : when large, it is solitary and fond of prowling among low rocks. It takes a bait freely ; its favourite food is minute Crustacea, in search of which, it ventures almost to the margin of the tide, and high up rivers.
Smooth Serranus, Serranus Cabrilla. Common, though not abun- dant, among the low rocks, called by the fishermen " rough ground," in moderately deep water ; it is frequently caught in crab-pots, and is used by the crabbers as bait ; it does not wander much ; it is in spawn during the summer months ; it takes a bait readily, but is in no estimation as food. There is a remarkable peculiarity in this fish, that it always dies in the most severe spasms ; its dorsal, caudal, and anal fins become expanded to their full extent, and are preter- naturally erected, and in this state they remain till destroyed by decomposition.
