FOREWORD 



By N. a. Mackintosh 



The position, extent, and physical features of the Patagonian Continental Shelf are such as to prompt 

 comparison with the major fishing grounds of the northern hemisphere ; but prior to the trawling 

 surveys of the R.R.S. 'William Scoresby ' the nature and magnitude of the population of demersal fishes 

 on the shelf had not been explored. Three surveys were carried out, for the most part at different times 

 of the year, in 1927, 1928 and 1931-2; and the principal results are set forth in Dr Hart's report. 



The report is based to a considerable extent on the unfinished work of the late Mr E. R. Gunther, 

 and the circumstances in which it was prepared require a word of explanation. Several members of 

 the Committee's staff took part in the work at sea, but the largest part was played by Mr Gunther, 

 and he was in charge during the third and most extensive survey. It is very largely owing to his 

 untiring energy and enthusiasm, and his broad conception of the problems involved, that a most 

 comprehensive and thorough investigation was carried out. The surveys have resulted in a very great 

 mass of data, and the preparation of a general report on the results was undertaken by Mr Gunther. 

 Some delay in the completion of this report was inevitable. A taxonomic account of the fish fauna, 

 and a description of the marine deposits of the shelf, were needed first, and these have already 

 been published in the Discovery Reports, together with systematic papers on certain invertebrate 

 groups. In the years before the war, however, Mr Gunther had made good progress with the 

 general analysis of the material, though his work was unavoidably interrupted from time to time by 

 other responsibilities. Since he held a commission in the Territorials he was called upon for military 

 service just before the outbreak of war, and further progress was therefore suspended. His death on 

 active service in 1940 was a severe loss to the Discovery Investigations. 



Owing to the dispersal of the Committee's staff in wartime no more could be done until 1943, when 

 Dr Hart was able to take over the work. The task of picking up the threads and collating the data 

 naturally involved considerable difficulties; and for many aspects of the subject it was necessary to 

 start again from the original data. The substance of the report can be regarded as the combined work 

 of Mr Gunther and Dr Hart, but the latter, as he explains below, has written the entire text in its 

 final form. 



It will be realized that this report deals mainly with the general biology and ecology of the demersal 

 fish, and with the prospects of commercial trawling. The surveys were planned for this purpose and 

 did not include an investigation of the pelagic fish such as the Falkland herring. Various references 

 to these fish are included in the report, but there is still little information on the prospects of com- 

 mercial fishing by other means than trawling. The principal conclusion of the report is that hake, and 

 some other edible species, are obtainable in moderate numbers by trawling. Although the shelf has 

 been found to be less rich in trawlable fish than might have been expected, it is possible that enough 

 could be taken to support an industry if markets could be found, and problems of preservation and 

 delivery could be overcome. The report may be regarded as a contribution to our knowledge of the 

 fish faunas of the world, and it is hoped that it will be of assistance in any consideration of the future 

 economic development of the Falkland Islands. 



