INTRODUCTION. 9 



from the offshore are decimated and scattered, and the re- 

 cuperation of the inshore is interfered with. 



One of us 1 has pointed out the necessity for caution in 

 drawing deductions from the experiments hitherto conducted 

 by the Fishery Board in Scottish waters. The great increase 

 in the number of fishes caught by the ' Garland ' in St Andrews 

 Bay and elsewhere in the second year of the work, caused the 

 Board to extend the closed areas, and further to close a large 

 portion of the Moray Firth. Yet next year the numbers captured 

 in St Andrews Bay by the 'Garland' fell greatly, and still more 

 so in 1889, again rising in 1890, but falling in 1891 only a little 

 above what they were at the commencement of the experiments 

 in 1886. No safe deduction therefore was possible under the 

 circumstances, and since the number of the larger fishes seemed 

 in no way to increase otherwise than the special opportunities 

 for capture explained, such action was probably the result of 

 other data than those supplied by science. The whole subject 

 will shortly receive treatment by one of us, so that it is un- 

 necessary to go into detail at present. 



Examination of Areas. Since the period of the Trawling 

 Commission more or less systematic examination of the various 

 areas closed to trawlers has been carried out by the Fishery 

 Board for Scotland by aid of the steam-ship ' Garland,' and 

 constant examination of St Andrews Bay by the boats connected 

 with the Marine Laboratory has given us more precise know- 

 ledge concerning pelagic eggs, larval and young fishes and their 

 surroundings. In many instances the eggs and larvae have 

 been examined in the living condition, while in the others 

 careful preparation has enabled us to obtain a fair knowledge 

 of species, and also to estimate their numbers. As a rule the 

 eggs of each species have certain characters peculiar to them, 

 whether in regard to size or structure, and thus their prevalence 

 in a given area and at a given time may approximately be 

 ascertained. The characteristic appearance of the egg of the 

 sole, for instance, at once indicates the presence of the adult in 

 the neighbourhood, and the introduction of a larger number of 



1 A Brief Sketch of the Scottish Fisheries chiefly in their Scientific Aspects. 

 By Prof. Mclntosh, 1892. 



