DISTRIBUTION AND GENERAL NOTES ON THE SPECIES 



305 



Here, then, we have the suggestion that shoreward concentration is beginning, but is not yet so 

 well defined as in the northern region at the same period. 



A few January observations, quite insufficient by themselves, fit in so well with the general theory 

 that I give them here in full (Table 24) and have included them in the general diagrammatic summary 

 of the observations on hake movement in Fig. 25. Following on the December observations these few 

 January stations clearly suggest an increase in the tendency to shoreward concentration. This seems 

 mainly due to an incursion of larger females (just as we should expect), for the difference in mean 

 length of over 5 cm. between the peak station WS809 and the inshore figures for distance grouping II 

 of the previous month is strongly significant. 



Table 24. Observations from -] to () January 1932, to be considered with the December data 

 bearing on hake movements in the intermediate region 



Some observations made in April during the first survey are also in very good agreement with the 

 theory Catches were more uniform than they were during the peak of shoreward movement (m 

 March only northern region data available), and the distribution in relation to distance from the land 

 was bi-modal The hake were most abundant at two distinct points over the range observed, at 94 

 and 238 miles from the land, the former being the richer haul and composed of significantly smaller 

 fishes A distribution of this type is just what one would expect if there had been a double wave of 

 shoreward movement, and if in April (autumn) the fish were again moving offshore towards their 

 winter quarters. We have already seen that the larger fish get farther out than the small ones, except 

 at midsummer, and they must therefore lead in the offshore movement, just as they seem to catch up 

 and pass the smaller fishes during the season of shoreward movement. The April data are shown in 

 detail in Table 25. 



April data bearing on hake movements in the intermediate region, 17 to 25 April 1927 



Table 25. 



Station 



WS96 



WS95 



WS108 



WS97 



WS98 



WS99 



Distance 

 offshore 

 sea miles 



34 

 68 



94 

 1 65 

 238 

 285 



Depth 

 m. 



96 

 104 

 119 

 146 

 172 

 237 



Hake nos. 



Males 



14 

 10 

 62 



14 



II 



o 



Females 



16 



29 

 66 

 20 

 60 

 19 



Total 

 per hour 



30 



39 



128 



34 

 71 

 19 



Mean lengths 



Males 



30-0 

 39-4 

 35-6 

 38-1 



39-4 



Females 



33-7 

 43-4 

 43-6 

 57-8 



53-6 

 63-3 



Sex 



ratio 



% males 



46-7 

 25-6 

 48-4 

 41-2 

 15-5 



0-0 



Another point brought ou, by this table is the relatively greater abundance of ma es than at any 

 other season except March, and the.r tendency not to go so far offshore as the larger fcn>ales^ 



tL dXenees in mean length for either sex at the two peak stations are sigmficant by the usual 

 rf, Jtsf wh eh has been appM throughout this section wherever differences » nn,ean length have 

 b'een consTdeL specifically I have not tabulated a or 0I.IN io. all the nreans, because many of 

 them did not individually assist in the building up of the general picture. 



