Cuninghame,J. R.

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BARRACUDA (SPHYRAENA, OP:)
\Vt:ight 4Slbs'l length 4 ft. 10 in., girth I ft. 8! in.
March, 1912.
THE MOMBASA 'KOLI KOLl' (THYNNUS SP:)
\Veight [8 Ibs. Total length 3 feet 2 in.
l\Iombasa, ~fay19[2.
~ COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA
Thepublicationof the secondnumberof the1911JOURNAL,
No.4, hasbeen greatlydelayedowingto the causesalready
referredto, the MS. havingonly beensent off a few weeks
ago. JOURNALNo.5, the first numberfor 1912,is nearly
completeandshouldbereadyfor thepublishersin a shorttime.
It is not proposedat presentto attemptto issuemore
than twonumbersof the JOURNALperannum,asit is difficult
to obtainarticlesor notesfor more.
Proposalsrelatingto the alterationof Rule 6 providing
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perannum,areaboutto be laid beforethe Members,whowill
be askedto voteuponthe proposalssimultaneouslywith the
votingfor thenewCommittee.
The Society now exchangespublicationswith most of
the principalSocietiesof a kindrednaturein the world,and
the Library is beingcontinuallyaugmentedby their Reports
and Periodicals. The British MuseumAuthoritieshavealso
presentedtheSocietywith Cataloguesof theirvarioussections,
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JOHN SERGEANT,
HonorarySecret~ry.
May 14, 1912.
NOTES ON COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASAI
By R. J. CUNINGHAME
Duringthemonthsof MarchandApril 1912,I wasat Mom-
basamakinga collectionof seafish for the British Museum,
but onmy arrivalat thecoastall thenativefishingpopulation
formeda ring to frustratemy objectand I foundit impossible
toobtainanativeboatoranyassistance.I hadeverysympathy
with theirdoggedopposition,for howcanoneexpecta hybrid
nativeto grasptheunlimitedpossibilitiesof scientificachieve-
1 Re-writtenfrom an addressdeliveredat the Museum,Na.irobi,on
Ma.y 30, 1912.
COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA 5
ment or the ethicsof sport? I had the activeassistanceof
officialsandresidentsat Mombasa,whoendeavouredto explain
to thefishermenmy objectin securingfish,but it waswithout
avail. I wassupposedto havearrivedto inauguratea white
man'ssea-fishingcommercialindustry,andif thatwasfounded
they sawthe.extinctionof their profession.
For ten days I playedthe well-knownpoliticalgameof
, wait and see.' I tooka fish tank downto them8J,'ketand
placedsomefishintoa preservativesolutionafterhavingtaken
manymeasurements,tyingonleatherlabels,andaskingendless
questions. I alsopaidwell formyspecimens.Very soontIDS
begantoappealto them,andI cameto bewellknownto many
of the fishers. They concludedI waspeaceablyinclinedbut
mad,andthereforecertainconcessionsmightbemadeto me,
andin thisway I at lastmadea bargainfor a sortof dug-out
with a crewof·four professionalfishermen.
Manyof you mayconcludethat seafishingin tropicalseas
is a very pleasantpastime,but I canassureyou that, if you
try,youwill discoverthattheheatismostoverpoweringandthe
fierceglarefrom the shimmeringwaterinducesmostviolent
headachesafterbeingout,say,eighthoursin a dug-out. Blue
glassesgivesomerelief,andshouldbewornconstantly.
The Mombasafishermenare wonderfullyskilled and in-
geniousin their devicesfor capturingfish. They maketheir
ownlines,andmostserviceablematerialit is. Their' owzeeo,'
or fish traps,arethe sameas thosefoundamongstall fishing
communitiesin Africa,andtheownersmakea goodliving out
of them. Thentheyhavehugelobster-potsor creelsof some
sevenfeetin length,fourfeetbroad,andtwofeethigh. These
theysinkinsideandoutsidethereefin somefouror fivefathoms
of water. To lift them,twomengo out in a dug-out,andon
reachinga creeloneof themdivesto the bottomand makes
inspection. If therearefishcaught,thecreelis hauledup and
dexterouslyplacedathwartthe dug-outand balancedthere,
a featwhichnowhitemancanperform. Thefishareprodded
out with a pointedstick,freshbait is inserted,andoverslides
the fish-pot again,often accompaniedby a fishermanwho
guidesit to a good position. The bait usedis a seaweed,
gatheredfromthe reefat low tide.
6 COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA
.These creelsare madeof coco-nutand palm-leafstrips,
and are very durable,but mustbethoroughlydriedtwicea
month.
Thentheyhavelargedrag-netstakinga dozenmento haul.
Thesearemadeof thesamematerialas thefishcreels. They
areput out froma boatin aboutfivefeetof water,in a semi-
circle,andthetotal lengthof ropeandnetwill be someeighty
yards.
Duringtheprocessof draggingthenet in, threemengoout
to thefurthestendandremainunderwaterasmuchaspossible,
clearingthe net from the coralboulders. I noticedthat the
varietyof fishtakenwasalwaysverypoor,but themenwere
well repaidby the quantity.
I collectedover 200 fish, each representinga different
species,sub-species,or variety,but as I possessno particular
ichthyologicaltrainingmy determinationsin many casesmay
be wrong.
I take it that pronouncedand recurrentdifferencesin
markings,suchasmaculation,linesof colour,andangleof gill
slit, constitutewhat are termedgoodcharacteristics,and on
thisassumptionI basemy200ormoredistinctvarietiesof fish.
I donot proposeto enter into any minute description,but
simplyto givemy generalideasandobservationson someof
the speciesfoundin Mombasawaters.
Thereareabouttwenty-twolocal or annualspecieswhich
arealwayspresentin thevicinityof Mombasa. Thenyouhave
two greatimmigrations,one from the north with the north-
eastmonsoon,and the otherfrom thesouthwith the south-
westmonsoon.
Duringtheshorttime(alittle overtwomonths)that I was
activelyengagedin collecting,I secured112specimensof fish,
which I believeto be part of the northernlot, and some
68specimenswhichmostundoubtedlyarrivedfrom thesouth
shortly after the south-westmonsoonbroke.
Theperiodof thenorth-eastmonsoonrangesfromDecember
to March,and that of thesouth-westmonsoonfromApril to
October,and it is during this periodthat the rainy season
occurs.
The directcauseof any widemovementof animallife is
COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA 7
alwaysof peculiarinterest,andI tookspecialnotesregarding
their maximumaud minimumweights,for fish, I believe,
migrateonly for two reasons. Firstly, the fry of certainfish
roam immensedistances,seekingnew feedinggroundsand
steadilyincreasingtheirsize,andconsequentabilityofjourney-
inggreaterdistancesin a reducedtime; and,secondly,when
adult,theyseekwiththeireldersthesuitablespawning rounds
that mayhavebeenusedfor generations.
Thenativefishermenarewellacquaintedwith theseasonal
changesof fishlife,butalwaysreferto thesouthernimmigration
as 'when thewind comeswith therain.'
Themethodsof capturethat I employedwerehand lines,
trammel-net,seine-net,andtrolling. But fewspecies(compara-
tivelyspeaking)arecaughtby handlining,andthebestplaces
are situatedin deepwaterof fifty to eightyfathoms,which
rendersthecaptureratherlaborious. Thetrammelis certainly
a failurein thesewaters,as the tidesare uniformlyfar too
strongandthebottomtoorockytoallowthenettofishproperly.
The seine-netoften catchesquantities,but for collecting·a
goodvarietyof specimensit is hardlyworththe labourafter
havingtried it somehalf-dozentimes.
In the scoresof fish-traps,bothonthe oceanfront and in
the lagoonsaroundMombasaIsland, I procuredmanyof my
bestspecimens,andduringsuitableconditionsofthetideI used
to patrolthecoastandlookovereightor tendifferentcatches
in a fewhours. Thenthelobster-potsor creelsgavemequite
a fewfish,whicharenot obtainableexceptby this methodof
capture. By the wayI call themlobster-pots,but thereare
no lobsterson the Africancoast. The fish calledlobstersare
Cray-fish,of whichthereseemsto be two specieslocally.
Now I shouldlike to say a little about the Gamefish.
UnfortunatelyI arrivedratherlate in the fishingseasonto
studyfishfroma sportingstandpoint,andby the time I had
aboutcompletedmy collectionthe south-westmonsoonhad
brokenand it wasimpossibleto go awayout uponthe ocean.
I, however,hada little experience,andI havecollectedagood
dealof what I believeto be reliableinformationfrom native
sources.
Whenat seaI hadoftenobservedtwoquitedifferentspecies
8 COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA
leapingawaysomefour milesout from land, and oneday I
took & friend with a tarpon rod, reel, and line. We got
well outside,and trolledwitha smalltwo-inchpike spinning-
bait calleda 'clipper spinner.' Whenaboutthreemilesout,
and in the hundredfathom-line,somethingtook bait and for
halfanhourwehadgreatsport; thefishnevershowedhimself,
but his rusheswerereallyseriousduringthe beginningof the
struggle. On beingbroughtalongsideand gaffed,hisvitality
wassuohthat he bent a new strongsteelgaff. This fish 1
believeto be the Barracudaandit weighedforty-fivepounds;
the weightis not great,but the powerof the fish far exceeds
that of any salmonof similarweight.
TheBarracudais a cosmopolitanfishinhabitingtheIndian,
Atlantic,andPacificoceans,andis oftencaughtby the dhows
whentheyareon passagefromMuscatto Zanzibar.
Providedtheboatis goingat a sufficientrateof speed,say,
abouteightmilesan hour,the Barracudawill takea pieceof
whiteclothwith a bit of redmaterialsewnon it. Any silver
spinning-baitwith a redtasselseemseffective;alsoasa natural
bait, Squid,or a fish very similarto Holacantkusdiacantkus
maybeused. Its jawshavemostformidableteethanda steel
traceis essentialto preventmanydisappointments.
In Mombasawatersthey are fairlynumerous,andat high
tide I have seenlargeexamplesleapingten feet out of the
wateroppositeKilindini pier. Theycomeuptheohannelafter
thesmallspratsand remainin the inshorewatersonly about
twohours,i.e.betweentheturningof thehightide.
The native nameis the' Unguo' and three speciesare
recognised.
As a gamefishheis wellworthtryingfor,andheis literally
foundjust off the pier headat Kilindini.
The Frontispieceshowsthe Barracuda caught at Mom-
basa,and you will observethe great breadthof the tail
in comparisonwith thatof the body. The Barracuda,I may
mention,is a residentof Mombasawaters.
Anothersportingfish is the Dolphin fish or 'Faloosi ' of
the Swahilis, seen in the rough sketch. This is essen-
tially a migrantand arrivesfrom thenorthaboutDecember,
and all havepassedsouthby the end of March. They are
COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA 9
caughtin largenumbersby the natives,whotroll for them
with a singlehook,baitedwith a pieceof squid. On a fish
beinghookedthey haul him up to within a boat'slengthand
thenthrow out threemorepreviouslypreparedbaitedhooks.
The resultis that asthe schoolpasses,a catchof five or six
Dolphin fish are unceremoniouslyhauledaboard. If trolled
by rod andline of light make,say,a thirteen-ouncerod, very
finesportwill behad; theaverageweightis abouteightpounds,
butfortenminutestheydeveloptheenergyofafifteenpounder.
While playingthem,theyareas muchout of the seaas in it,
butwhenlandingthemagaffshouldnotbeusedas theyhave
a strongleatheryskinwhiohevena gaffskatesabouton,and
DOLPHIN FISH OR 'FALOOSI' (Goryphaena, Bp.)
Weight26lb. Total length3 ft. 10in. MombaBa,March1910.
will notreadilypenetrate. A large-mouthedlanding-netwould
meettheallose.
The Dolphin fish will take a 'spoon bait' or a 'clipper
spinner,'but the palatehasa bonysurfaceand the mouthis
relativelysmall; thereforea trianglehookis of not muchuse.
It shouldbesingleandlongin theshank.
Thelargestof thesefishI sawweighedtwenty-sixpounds.
Thenativesrecognisetwovarieties,but I verymuchdoubtthe
correctnessof this.
The' Faloosi' is alwayson migrationwhenin the neigh-
bourhoodof Mombasa,and goesabout in shoalsof fifty or
more. It is a surfacefeeder,and,asfar asmy knowledgegoes,
spawnsin the Persian Gulf and travelsdown the coast of
Africato thevicinityof Mauritius. Afterthat it isneverseen
againonits returnnorth. It probablyseeksdeeperwatersand
10 COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA
returnswhenoeit cameafter the mannerof the common
herringin the Atlantic.
NowI cometo speculatea little. I wellknowthat specula-
tion isverybadscience;still I amnotwritinga scientificarticle
abouttheseGamefish,but speakingmorefroma generalpoint
of view.
My readerswill be acquaintedwith the AmericanTuna of
the Pacificcoast,of whichtherearethreevarieties:Thurnus
alalonga,with the v:ery attenuated side-fins; Thunnus
thynus,which is the nameof the giant Tuna; and Thunnus
maculatus,or yellow-finnedTuna.
In the Mediterraneanwe againfind the Tuna under the
nameof Tunni. This fishis T. mediterraneusandknownin the
MediterraneanasThon. It hasneverbeenknownto takeany
80rtof bait and is therecapturedin wirenets.
Further East.still, wefind a fishapparentlyidenticalwith
T. alalonga,or long-finnedTuna, in the neighbourhoodof
Aden,wherethe Somalisfish for themand sun-drythemfor
commercialpurposes.
Thenagainat Malindi,on themouthof the Athi or Sabaki
River, reportshave reachedme of a fish that mostclosely
resemblesa Tuna in appearance,habits,and behaviourwhen
hooked.
Off Mombasathe samefish is knownto be presentfrom
Decemberto February.
My informantshavegivenme minutedescriptionsof the
methodstheyemployfor theircapture,andhaveidentifiedthe
fish fromlargeillustrationsI haveshownthem. Apparently
therearetwo speciesof Tunasto be foundoff Mombasa,the
longfinned(T. alalonga)knownas' Djodari' at Mombasa,and
theyellow-finnedTuna (T. maculatus)knownasSayhaywa.
At Mombasathey feedlargelyon flyingfish,whichis also
their chief diet off the coastof California,wheresportsmen
resortin largenumbersandusedeadflying-fishas bait.
Most unfortunatelyI was not fishingat Mombasaduring
the monthsthesefish were passingthrough thosewaters,
sothat all I haveto tell you aboutthemis opento a certain
amountof doubt; butat thesametimeI feelconvincedthata
trueGamesportingtypeof ocean-goingfishawaitsanyonewho
COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA 11
can affordthe leisureto try variousformsof bait with rod
and line.
The Sayhaywa,i.e.T. maculatusor yellow-finnedTuna,are
presenttill the beginningof Marchand are alwaysfoundin
deepwater,aboutthreeto fivemilesout at sea. They range
in sizefromtwelveto eightypoundsandtheirlengthrunsfrom
two to four feet,but theyincreaseverydisproportionatelyin
girth as they develop. They are oftenseenjumpingafter
flying fish, and theycleara heightout of thewaterof some
fiveto six feet.
With regardto thenativemethodof capture,thefishermen
first catchesaboutten pounds'weightof a Sardine-likefish
called' Seemu,'with a handseine-net.As theyarereleased
fromthenettheyaretransferredinto a specialbasketcovered
with sacking,which is securedto the gunwaleof the boat,
andimmersedin the sea.Whenthedesiredamountoffishhave
beencaughttheyproceedto sea,andwhenfarenoughoutlower
sailandmastanddriftwiththetide. A.fewoftheliveSardines
arethenlet looseandahandfulmorearetakenandmushedup
in thehandsunderthewater.! This is doneto createa smell
of oil. The processis keptup at intervalsof a quarterof an
hour; and,whenTuna showsup, oneSardinefish is quickly
placedonahookby passingthesamethroughbotheyes,andis
cast out. A live bait, so. secured,will remain alive· for
about half an hour, and as long as it is alive there is a
chanceof a Tuna taking it, but they nevertake a dead
naturalbait.
When hooked,the Tuna nevershowshimself,but rushes
straightaway,thoughwithoutany BOund. '
Thereis about 240fathomsof strongline coiledin the
boat and aboutthree-quartersof this is allowedto run out.
Thenpressureis appliedbyhandandthefishis checked,and,
if possible,hauledin a bit. Whena rush is madeagainthe
line is let go,andso it goeson for two or threehourswith a
bigfish.
Often they think the fish is lost, but it is only rushing
towards the boat, and the surpriseis very suddento him
who is handlingtheline.
1I believethis is alsopra.otisedin Californiaandtermed•Chumming.'
1~ COLLECTING SEA FISH AT MOMBASA
Sometimesthemen,by puttingona carefulstrain,manage
to gettheTunato towtheboatabout.
To geta Tunaaboard,a harpoonis usedto spearhimwhen
alongside;heis thenroughlyhauledupto the boat'ssideand
struckon theheadtill quiet.
Anotherway of catchingTuna is to troll for them,with a
goodbreezeat,say,sixmilesanhour. Thesamehookandline
areused,andthe bait maybe a triangularpieceof squidor a
bit of whitecloth.
Both the MombasaTuna are greedyfor flyingfish,but
it is next to impossibleto securethat bait; but if whena
Tuna is caughtit is cut open thereis alwaysthe chanceof
findinga freshlyswallowedflying-fish. If so,useit.
The nativesrecognisethreespeciesof Tuna,two of which
they call 'Sayhaywa,'andthe other ' Djodari'; thelatter is
the largestandscarcest,andail seemto havetracesof yellow
on the fins and tail, but this colourationvariesaccordingto
species. I couldnot determine xactlythe individualdistinc-
tion of colour,asthenativemindcaresbut little for theexact
areasof pigmentationfoundon thefishhecatches.
Two moreGamefish deservenotice,whicharenamedthe
•Tangessi,'andthe' Koli Koli ' (seeFrontispiece). TheTangessi
area pike-likefishandarepresenthroughoutheyear. They
apparentlyspawnin thesewaters,butdo nottake a baituntil
they are about fifteenpoundsin weight,while a largefish
will scalefortypounds.
They may be caughtboth inside and outsidethe reef.
For bait employsquid or a silver spoon,andsail at a good
rate. When hooked they jump vigorously,but are not
strongfighters.
The' Koli Koli ' at firstsightremindsoneof Tunaalalonga,
thelong-finnedvariety,butthoughbelongingto thesamegenus
theyarevastlyinferiorfroma sportsman'spointof view.
Thesefisharepresentin Mombasawatersduringninemonths
of theyear,beingabsentin August,September,and October.
In size they run from two poundsto fifty pounds,which
indicatesthat theyspawnin thesewaters.
For bait a live Perch, resemblinga seaPerch and called
•Tawa' by the Swahilis, is the best; the hook is passed
~:HETHOWA RIVER 13
throughthedorsalfin,allowingthebaitto swimalivefornearly
an hour.
They canbe caughtwIth a pieceof squidby trolling,and
ontakingthebaittheyrushstraightawayat a greatspeed,but
apparentlydo not makea goodfight.
Theyareneverseenleapingat sea,andduringMaytheyare
very plentifuland can be caughtinsidethe reef. Whenthe
north-eastmonsoonblows theyarealwaysfoundout in the
ocean.
Consideringthat indicationsof thepresenceof big Game
fishesareto befoundoffMOlllbasa,I canonlyhopethat some-
onewithsufficientleisuremaysoonundertaketogivethecapture
of thembymeansof rodandlineafair and.exha.ustivetria.l. To
dothissuccessfullytheuseof a motor-boatis, in my opinion,
essential. Thelocalcraftof all shapesandsizesarequiteun-
suitedfor theattempt,exceptin theinshorewaters. Thetides
arecomparativelystrong,and duringthe bestfishingmonths,
Decemberto March,thewind is veryfitful and moderate,and
causeshours of delayin reachingthe outsidefishinggrounds
wherethebig fishmaybe found.
As regardsthe questionof the preservativeI employed,
andtheresultsin myhands,I referthe readerto page39ofthis
JOURNAL,wherea shortarticleI havewrittenon the subject
will befound.
In a later issueI hopeto chroniclea list of the fishin my
collection,coupledwith a fewindividualnotes.
THE THOWA RIVER
By ARTHURM. CHAMPION
The courseof this riverhad for someyearsbeena subject
of muchdispute,at any rateamongthosewhohavehadany
connectionwith theKitui district. Opinionsvariedsowidely
that by someit washeldto bein theTanabasin,whilstothers
maintainedtha.tit joinedthe Tiva andeventuallyflowedinto
theSabaki.


Notes on collecting sea fish at Mombasa

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Notes on collecting sea fish at Mombasa

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