This memoir was sent to Mr LuNoir, commander in the Indies. 1725. Memoir for Madagascar and Bourbon Island. Fishing in general. What species can be fished around Bourbon Island off the coast and along the coast of Mozambique, if they are fished during specific seasons of the year? What types of boats are used, their rigging and the number of crew members? Whether fishing takes place on the open sea or far from the coast. Whether herring, sardines, anchovies and bonito are seen at sea. Whether small-scale fishing takes place along the coast and at river mouths. [?] Which fish species are the most abundant and which are only passing through. Which are the best quality. Do the islanders and Africans consider fish to be good food and is it sought after? Are fish caught for salting and if so, whether this salting done in the same way as Europeans salt cod and herring? Whether trout, salmon, sturgeon, shad, lamprey and other similar fish are found in the rivers of both the islands and the mainland, entering the rivers from the sea or leaving the fresh water to go into the salt water. A list of fish common along these coasts, noting as far as possible their French names and those given to them by the natives of the bay, and the season in which they appear in these seas and in this bay. Fortuitous and accidental catches. Whether whales are often seen in the seas off the coast of Languebar and the Dauphines des Bourbons Islands. If they are caught, what do the fishermen do with the remaines of these fish? If large numbers of porpoises are seen there and if they are fished in any way. The use made of their flesh and fat. If there are large, rare or unknown cetacean fish in these seas. If sea monsters are seen there. That we [?] make drawings of them as accurate as possible. Ambergris. If ambergris is found in these seas in certain seasons, only accidentally.
