July 1963 School Magazine

July, 1963

Brisbane Girl!l' Grammar School Magazine .

July, 1963

Brisbane· Girls' Grammar School Magazine

WATERFALL From whence doth the torrent flow that ultimately cascades over the precipice of these Falls ? Who may say? But it comes. With a turbulent roar and a hissing spray Crashes over the topmost knife-edge and is divided by a lower ridge. Then with a veil of misty, mingling hues as sunlight is im- prisoned in the droplets It falls; doyvn to the murky, tumultuous depths of the swirling, deep green whirlpool. Whither does it go ? Who may say?

have often tried, with the aid of a friend's microscope to see the eggs which are pelagic, that is they float at or near the surface, but have not been successful. I have caught the undersize, younger bream further up •stream, not in the estu- aries, and this leads me to think that they move up the riyer to the mud flats, possibly for protection. Silver Bream f~ed on the bottom where they obtain shell fish. worms, crustaceans and small fish . The bream is a serious pest to the oyster farmer for it destroys large quantities of oysters. I have often, at night, sat floating in a boat over a bed of oysters, and, listening hard, heard the constant crack with which the bream breaks the shell with its strong teeth, wrenching the upper part of the oyster free and eating the soft flesh. Just as the neylio australis is the most common of the sparidae family in our local watei's, so the luderick (Girella trixuspidata) is the most prolific of the Girellidae family. This fascinating fish is very popular with anglers since it is ready to fight for its liberty. It frequents the flats and estuaries wherever there is an abundance of the weed on which it feeds. I _have caught it in the brackish waters further up, however, and near the weed covered rocks along the ocean shore. Procuring the correct weed is a great problem for anglers. Best are the fine thread-like sea-weed (Enteromorpha intestinalis) which grows on wharf piles and rocks, and the cabbage weed (Ulva lactuca) abounding on the sea front. Occasionally they have been known to eat small molluscs or portions of worms, but I have not been successful with 'this kind of bait. Black fish are sometimes caught with traps, since they enter these, seeking shelter from the attack of larger fish or to obtain the weed which grows on the wooden or iron frame of the trap. I am now able to tell the female from the male by the teeth, which in the former look as though they have been cut off at the top, but in the latter are trilobate. Most people find the luderick excellent eating, but, if it has be~n left uncleaned for a time, it tends to become blotchy, giving the impression of staleness, while no deterioration has actually occurred. I find they are most palatable when they have been bled and cleaned immediately after leaving the water. Fish are past-masters at camouflage. While the silver bream changes colour. the dusky flathead (platycephalus fuscus) lies completeiy covered with sand, so that only its eyes are visible, waiting for the ambush. Thus more flat- head are caught with moving bait, which they seize with their large mouths. The teeth of the flathead are small and 13

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COMMON FISH OF OUR LOCAL WATERS.

. Too often in life, · striving to understand and appreciate the extraordinary and rare thing, we tend to overlook the beauty and fascination of the commonplace. So it is with fish. Everybody knows that the study of the lung fish, the sucker- fish, or the butterfly cod is absorbing, but few realise how interesting some of our more common fish are. Anyone who has enjoyed the sport of angling, has, at some time, caught a haul of silver bream (neylio australis) which move in scattered shoals in sheltered bays and estuaries, sometimes ascending to the brackish water. They weigh usually about three pounds but I have heard of some as large as seven or eight. Althou¢1 common, they are a most interesting fish. Their colour changes greatly according to the clarity of the water. In the muddy water of the rivers, it ranges from a dark golden bronze to an almost olive green, but in the estuaries or along the coast, becomes the character- istic silver. This change is brought about by pigment cells (chromatophores), which are so tiny a microscope is needed to examine them, and which undergo a type of contraction, expansion process. Silver Bream spawn between May and August, about the mouths of estuaries. I have caught many bream at high tide on moonlight nights and I am inclined to agree with those who think spawning occurs at this time. I 12