Sea Fish

Grey Mullet Sea Fish

The body stout, compressed at the sides, covered with large firm scales. Head arched across, the mouth wide, with a narrow gape, the lips fleshy, teeth exceedingly fine, middle of the lower jaw bent up and received into a recess of the upper. Dorsal fins two, separate, the first with a few spinous rays. Ventral fins abdominal.

As the close inquiries of Dr. Gunther into the several species of this family of Mullets appear to shew that there is a larger number of sorts on our coasts than naturalists have hitherto supposed, it will require on the part of an observer no small amount of discrimination to come to a conclusion concerning the examples which may come in his way, and any inquiry on the subject, to be satisfactory, will demand that any doubtful example shall be fresh from the water, or if that be impossible, the specimens must have been preserved in a better manner than is usual with fishes.

Our history and description of those Mullets will comprise, in the first place, those kinds with which we are acquainted, and after this we shall have recourse to that information with which the kindness of Dr. Gunther has supplied us, in assigning those distinguishing marks by which these little known species may be recognised. The habits of these obscurer kinds, so far as they may differ from the others, are still unknown.

These fishes are frequently called by the name of Grey Mullets, to distinguish them from the lied or Surmullets, from which they differ in almost every characteristic of forin, colour, and habits.

The Grey Mullet is familiarly known round the coasts of the United Kingdom, although perhaps it exists in greater numbers in. the south and west than in the north. It appears indeed to be more widely distributed than others of its genus, for while it is met with in the north of Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia, it is more abundant than even with us through the Mediterranean, even to the mouth of the Nile, and southward it is known at the Cape of Good Hope.

Its choice of residence is in the neighbourhood of the shore, where it is most frequently seen in harbours, especially where the larger rivers empty themselves into the ocean, and this fish is even known to leave the salt water altogether for an occasional change, although by choice it soon returns to the waters of the sea.

From a study of the younger individuals there is reason to conclude that this interchange between the waters of the sea and river is of importance to their health and growth, but as regards the fish of full growth the change may be especially beneficial by affording some supply of favourable food, as it has grown into a proverb that an Arundel Mullet is of particularly delicious quality. When living in a muddy bottom or foul water, as is the case in some parts of the Mediterranean, as food it is said to lose much of its admired flavour.

We are told that a gentleman who kept Mullets confined in a pond of fresh water, where no doubt they were sufficiently supplied with food, was per- suaded that by this treatment they were much improved in quality as well as growth , but how long this exclusive confine- ment was persevered in does not appear.

From Columella we learn that they were among the fishes preserved in ponds by the ancient Romans, but these we suppose to have contained the water of the sea. We are left by this author to suppose that these fishes did not suffer by the confinement, and from the number he mentions it seems probable that they even increased in their captivity.

This Roman author, whose observations probably were drawn from Mullets thus confined in ponds, applies to them the epithet of sluggish, (iners mugil,) but this can only be appropriate to the deliberate manner in which the structure of their mouth com pels them to proceed in taking their food, in which it must be allowed they are much more slow than the Bass or Lupus, which he mentions immediately after them, and against which they were believed to feel a perpetual antipathy.

The charge of imbecility brought against this fish by Pliny, as shewn by the fact that it hides its head for concealment when alarmed, and then acts as if persuaded that its whole body was concealed, is, as Cuvier has remarked the opposite to what we know of the character of these fishes, of which the vigilance, when exposed to observation, is very great, although this is accom- panied with little appearance that might lead us to suspect its existence.

In the desire for food, which is a predominant appetite in the generality of fishes, the Mullet appears to shew itself fastidious, but this appearance arises from the fact that from natural causes its range of choice is limited, and of no other kind of fish can it be so safely affirmed that it rarely selects anything for subsistence that is endued with life. Such also was the opinion of Oppian:-

"Mullets, unlike the rest, are just and mild, No fish they harm, by them no seas are spoil'd, Not on their own nor different kinds they prey, But equal laws of common right obey. Undreaded they with guiltless pleasure feed On fattening slime, or bite the sea grown weed. Each licks his mate"



It must be confessed, indeed, that this last particular is not literally true, for the Mullet will devour a worm when presented to it, and it is even fished for successfully with a fly, but from Mr. Thompson's account of the habits of the Mullet, as he described them in his "Natural History of Ireland," some doubts may be felt whether he speaks of the same species.

He says: "The contents of the stomachs I have examined at various seasons, presented (from the minute size of the objects,) many hundred fold greater destruction of animal life than I have ever witnessed on a similar inspection of the food of any bird or fish. From a single stomach I have obtained what would fill a large sized breakfast cup, of the following species of bivalve and univalve mollusca, which had been taken alive, Mytilus edulis, Modiola papuana, (of these very small individuals,) Kellia rubra, Shenea deprcssa, Littorina retusa, J Rissoa lahiosa, and H. parixi, scrpula, and miliolce.

Of these molluscaj specimens of Rissoa lahiosa three lines in length were the largest, and the Kellia rubra, from the smallest size to its maximum of little liiore than a line in diameter, the most abundant. In the profusion of specimens it affords the stomach of one of these Mullets is quite a storehouse to a conchologist. In addition to these there were various species of minute Crustacea. The only inanimate matter that appeared were fragments of Zosiera marina and confervse, which were probably taken into the stomach on account of the adhering mollusca.

To this nutritious food may perhaps be attributed the great size this fish attains in Belfast Bay." Mr. Thompson adds, that in the "Animal Kingdom" of Cuvier, Pennant's figure of the Grey Mullet in his "British Zoology," is referred to as 31. capita, but in the "History of Fishes," by Cuvier and Valenciennes, it is believed to represent M. chelo. In this last work Donovan's figure of the Mullet, is considered a very good representation of M. chelo, although Yarrell and Jenyns refer to both figures as M. capito.

I will here add that in the references I have made, as in the history given, my opinion respecting the species is the same as that of Yarrell and Jenyns, and that our history applies only to the identical species we have described and represented. It has been remarked by different observers that this fish is sometimes, and perhaps often seen to grope in the soft flooring of the bottom, with the help of its very sensitive lips and curiously formed mouth, by which every particle is closely examined, and to swallow a mixture of decaying vegetable and animal substances, with sand, of the latter of which alone I have obtained from a single stomach so much as would fill a tablespoon, but no one will suppose that the sand so swallowed was a principal object of search.

The very minute mollusks mentioned by Mr, Thompson would at least be as acceptable as the sand, and without doubt much more so, but that this mullet can live and thrive where such food is beyond its reach is out of the question.

No shell or substance beyond the size given by Mr. Thompson can pass into the stomach of the Mullet, for after the close sensitive examination it has undergone at the entrance of the mouth, it has to be strained through a sifting apparatus in the throat, by which all that is stout or rough becomes rejected, and then blown out of the mouth, after which what forms the food is received into the firm and muscular stomach, that for substance resembles the gizzard of a fowl. By the action of this organ what is capable of affording nourishment becomes digested, and the remainder is passed on through a thinner portion of the stomach to be finally expelled at the vent.

Oppian has taken notice of a delicate trait in the character of this fish, in an action which however is sometimes noticed of other species when not very eager for food, and which action is also mentioned by Ovid:



"The scenting Mullet creeps with slow advance, And views the bait with coy retorted glance. First with his tail he feels the bait, and tries If vital warmth the beating pulse supplies, For Mullets always spare the living prize, Then slightly nibbles, but perceives too late The doubted fraud, and feels the pungent fate."

The form of the mouth and narrowness of the gullet form a hindrance which prevents this fish from swallowing a hook of even small size, and generally the close examination which is made of the texture of what is to be admitted might appear a sufficient guard against the reception of anything that might endanger its salety, yet the Mullet is not unfrequently caught with a line, and the misfortune itself is the result of those very actions which seem best fitted to ensure its safety.

The close pressure of the lips on the bait will cause the point of the hook to pierce the flesh, and in this way the fish falls a victim of mischance, when, however, no slight skill and patience are required to bring the prize safely to land. The baits employed are a small soft worm, some fatty substance, or cabbage boiled in animal broth, and Oppian mentions, as an ordinary bait in his day, a mixture of curds of milk with flour and an infusion of mint, fastened on an ordinary hook.

But the Mullet is more frequently sought for with the net, and it is in its encounter with this that the large amount of its watchful intelligence and activity are displayed. As we are informed that this fish is an inhabitant of the Mediterranean through its whole length, and, according to Mr. Frazer, "Travels in the Persian Provinces" even in the Caspian Sea, we feel justified in believing that it is the identical species, in common perhaps with the M. cephalus, a kindred fish not yet discovered in Britain, of which Oppian has described the proceedings when beset with dangers, and it is with pleasure we are able to adduce instances of the accuracy of the representations that are given of these by the poet, who has referred to this fish more frequently perhaps than to any other, and always with much discrimination of character.

The net, of course, is shot near the shore, where its leaded bottom may reach the ground, and the intention of the fisherman is, either to let it remain moored until the tide has ebbed away, or at his convenience to draw it to land. But the watchful eye of the fish will often discover the snare even before the barrier of restraint is altogether closed. Instead, however, of rushing to the only but yet distant opening, which it might not be able to reach in time, it boldly essays to spring, or rather tumble over the head line, and when one succeeds all the rest will be sure to follow.



"The Mullet, when encircling seans enclose, The fatal threads and treacherous bosom knows. Instant he rallies all his vigorous powers, And faithful aid of every nerve implores, O'er battlements of cork updarting flies, And finds from air th' escape that sea denies. But should the first attempt his hopes deceive, And fatal space the imprison'd fall receive, Exhausted strength no second leap supplies, Self doomed to death the prostrate victim lies, Resigned with partial expectation waits Till thinner element completes his fates."

This last particular is also emphatically true as regards another method in which escape is attempted, and I have seen where all its companions have gone over the corks, and the head-rope of the net has been raised high above the water, a solitary prisoner has examined all the meshes through the length and breadth of the net, and finding no opening through which it could readily pass, it has retired to the greatest distance the space admitted, and thence with a rapid dash has sought to thrust itself through. This last desperate effort has been in vain, and from that moment the fish resigns itself to its fate.

So strong also is this impulse of watchfulness against restraint, that to avoid it the Mullet will encounter danger, even when the space enclosed is of considerable extent. In the port of Looe, in Cornwall, there is a salt-water mill pool of thirteen acres that is enclosed on the side of the river by an embank- ment, and into which the tide flows through flood gates that afford a ready passage for fish to the space within.

When the tide begins to ebb the gates close of themselves, but even before this has happened the Mullets which have entered have been known to pass along the enclosed circuit within the bank, as if seeking the means of deliverance, and, finding no outlet, they have thrown themselves on the bank at the side to their own destruction.

Even Mullets of exceedingly small size have been seen to throw themselves, head or tail foremost, over the head line of a net, where it would have seemed much easier for them to have passed through a mesh, and so strong is this propensity to pass over an obstacle rather than through it, that examples of less than an inch in length have repeatedly thrown themselves over the side of a cup where the water was an inch below the brim.

Fishermen, however, are acquainted with a simple method, which, by deceiving the fish, is sufficient to prevent their taking a successful leap over the net. A thin layer of straw is scattered over the surface to the breadth of a few feet within the head line, and mistaking this for the obstacle itself, the fish exhausts its efforts on the wrong object, and remains a prisoner still.

Risso describes another mode of taking this fish, by attracting it with a light, and then darting at it a spear or trident, perhaps the crossed trident, or such as by sailors in England is termed the grains, but it scarcely appears successful with us, although ingeniously contrived for the purpose.

But a more remarkable and singular method of taking Mullets is mentioned by ancient writers, although with some variation as regards the particular species of Mullet. Pliny refers to it as simply the Mugil, the salacious properties of which render them so unguarded, that in Phoenicia, and also in the province of Gallia Narbonensis, at the time of coupling, which is about midsummer, and near the influence of fresh water, an individual of either sex, which was taken out of the preserved pond, was fastened to a long line that was passed through the mouth and gills, and then the fish was left to wander to the end of the line in the sea, after which it was drawn back again, when it was found to be followed to the water's edge by some one or more of the opposite sex.

Elian relates this more at large, and says the decoy fish must be selected as the most excellent and beautiful of its kind, but in the title to his account of it he refers this habit to a species he terras Oxyrhynchus kephalus, or Sharp nosed Mullet, which he appears to distinguish from the simple Kephalus, as also from the Kestreus, which is another kind of Grey Mullet.

Oppian also makes a distinction between the Kephalus and Kestreus, but refers to the same practice of attracting the Kephalus near the shore, where a casting net was thrown to secure the prize. And strange as this story is, it is borne witness to by Gesner, who is quoted by Willoughby as having seen it practised at Tarentum. A male fish was observed to follow a female that had been sent out as a decoy, and, although severely wounded with a spear, it would not be made to quit its lure, until at last it fell a victim to its love.

All writers agree in ascribing to this fish great quickness of hearing, and it has even been supposed that it is capable of the perception of particular sounds. The Cornish historian Carew had formed a pond on a branch of the Tamar, in which Mullets were fed at regular periods, and they were drawn together to the appointed spot at the sound made by the chopping of their food.

We are not to conclude it certain that the sacred fishes mentioned by Martial, as being preserved in the Roman emperor's pond at Baise were Mullets, although it is probable they were so, and it may have been with some exaggeration that he says they each one knew their name, but, where the sound was simple the general observation of the fact is not without probability.

From all accounts, ancient and modern, it is certain that this fish has ever been in esteem for the table, although in some places more than in others, and Ausonius says that to be eaten in perfection it should be cooked within six hours after it is caught. But there is a favourite preparation made from it in Italy that is scarcely known in England.

It is called botargo, and is formed of the roe which is carefully removed from the fish, and sprinkled with salt for four or five hours, after which it is pressed between two boards and dried in the sun by day for thirty or forty days, or by some it is dried in smoke. It is supposed to sharpen the appetite, excite thirst, and heighten the relish of wine.

This fish grows to the length of eighteen or twenty inches, and will sometimes weigh from twelve to fifteen pounds. The body thick and solid, but compressed at the sides, the head wide and flat on the top, compressed on the cheek. In one that measured eighteen inches in length the greatest depth was four inches. Eye moderate, lateral, round, in a line with the angle of the mouth.

The gape narrow, jaws equal, the lower bent up at the middle to form a keel, which is received into a cavity in the upper jaw, both jaws are capable of some degree of extension, the teeth so fine that they are not always to be discovered, hair like, closely set with their points set in a crenated line. Lips membranous or fleshy, with raised fleshy lines in two rows, except at the symphysis of the upper lip, a slight roughness on the tongue and a small portion of the vomer.

The mystache or maxillary bone separate from the fleshy lip, turned back near the eye. The body covered with firm scales, which extend over the cheeks. First dorsal fin begins at about midway between the upper lip and root of the tail, with four firm rays, second dorsal removed from the first by more than the length of the former, with nine rays, the first simple and slight.

Anal fin opposite the second dorsal, and rather longer, with eleven rays, of which the third is the longest. Pectoral fin broad and high, with sixteen rays. Six rays in the ventral fin, the first simple. Caudal incurved, with fourteen rays, besides two or three false rays.

The colour on the back is a dark bottle green, which, when out of the water soon fades into grey, lighter on the sides and belly, with broad lines of a deeper colour running towards the tail, varying, but about seven in number, cheeks and border of the pectoral fin tinged with yellow, iris of the eye dark brown. Large well marked facial nerves pass forward near the angle of the mouth, to be distributed and afford special sensation to the upper lip and its raised lines.

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