July, 1917 The Irish Xafuralist. 105 



ADVANCES IN IRISH MARINE ZOOLOGY. 



FOURTH REPORT. 

 BY R. F. SCHARFF, B.SC, M.R.I. A. 



It is seven years since I last had an opportunity of 

 commenting on the recent advances made in Irish Marine 

 Zoology.^ I do not intend to allude to the progress re- 

 corded in the papers published in the Irish Naturalist. 

 The advances, and truly remarkable they are, which I 

 refer to are the results obtained from the cruises of the 

 steamer attached to the Fisheries Branch of the Irish 

 Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. 

 Within the last few years these operations have been 

 suspended owing to the war, but just before that time 

 the zoologists associated with the Fisheries Branch have 

 displayed great activity in collecting materials for a large 

 number of most valuable reports. The additions thus made 

 to our knowledge of the Irish fauna far exceed previous 

 attempts in the same direction. Twenty-five of these 

 reports will now be quoted, although some of them are 

 not strictly speaking of a zoological nature. The last of 

 the reports was issued in 1915,' and there is material in. 

 hand for many more. 



General Biology. — A ver}^ comprehensive investigation 

 is the survey of the trawling grounds on the coasts of Down, 

 Louth, Meath and Dublin. To judge from the two parts 

 published the results will be of considerable importance 

 to Irish fisheries. It is intended to complete the work 

 in four parts, the two issued being Part I. by E. \\'. L. 

 Holt,'^ and Part III. by Anne L. Massy.^ 



Mr. Holt informs us that the surve}^ was undertaken 

 with a view to obtaining some knowledge of the condition 



^ Irish Naturalist, April, 1910. 



^Including Fisheries, Ireland, Sci. Invest., 1914, iv. 1915. 



^ Holt, E. W. L. — Report of a Survey of Trawling Grounds on the 

 Coasts of Counties Down, Louth, Meath and Dublin. Part I. Record 

 of Fishing operations. Fisheries, Ireland, Sci. Invest., 1909, i. [1910]. 



* Massy, Anne L. — Report of a Survey of Trawling Grounds on the 

 Coasts of Counties Down, Louth, Meath and Dublin. Part III., In- 

 vertebrate Fauna. Fisheries, Ireland, Sci. Invest., 19 11, i. [1912]. 



