CHAP. VII FISHES FROM THE SEA-BOTTOM 443 



bream (Pagelhts), pollack, hake, megrim i^Zetigopte^^us), and 

 conger-eel, that the greatest quantities are taken south-west of 

 the British Isles in the Atlantic. 



We can thus distinguish northern species which are mainly Northern and 

 taken north of the North Sea and in the North Sea, and ;°^'^^^';^^ ^j^^ 

 southern species, which are chiefly derived from the Atlantic, easteni 

 notwithstanding the fact that comparatively little fishing is '^^^^"*^'^- 

 carried on in this area. The percentages of each species in the 

 aggregate quantities landed from each area confirm these facts. 



In the area between the mouth of the White Sea and the 

 west coast of the British Isles we find the cod constituting at 

 least 20 per cent of all the fish caught, on the coast of Norway 

 even 81 per cent, at Iceland 60 per cent, and at the Faroe Islands 

 48 per cent. South-west of the British Isles the quantity of 

 cod dwindles to 4|- per cent, and farther south it disappears. 

 The haddock also constitutes a large proportion of the quantities 

 landed from the area between the White Sea and the north- 

 west of the British Isles (excepting off Norway, where the 

 bottom is unsuitable for haddock-fishing) ; in the North Sea even 

 45 per cent of all the fish caught are haddock. The quantities 

 of this fish also dwindle and finally disappear south-west of 

 the British Isles. The same applies to plaice, halibut, ling, and 

 tusk. 



The percentages of southern fish, on the other hand, increase 

 west of the British Isles. The hake [Alerhiccius) practically 

 does not occur north of the North Sea, where it constitutes 

 only about J per cent of the total quantity ; south-west of the 

 British Isles it reaches 32 per cent, in the Bay of Biscay even 

 65 per cent, and all the way southward it constitutes at least 

 30 per cent of the total quantity. Similar conditions apply to 

 the pollack, sole, sea-bream [Pagelhts), the monk or angler, the 

 gurnards, and others. 



On the coast banks of the western side of the Atlantic we Northern and 

 meet with similar groups of northern and southern forms, JpedeT^n the 

 the change between these groups occurring about the New western 

 England states. We give some instances of quantities of fish 

 landed in the New England states, the middle Atlantic states, 

 and the south Atlantic states, taken from the fishery statistics 

 for the year 1906, the figures signifying tons : — 



[Table 



