138 NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 



taken in spring and summer, near the German and Danish shores, and 

 from 7 to 10 in. long are year-old fish, and that if we were to search for 

 specimens less than 7 in. long at that time we should find them to be in 

 smaller numbers. 



With regard to the plaice from the Brown Ridges, there is consider- 

 able difficulty in forming a judgment concerning the age. We know 

 that some flounders, and, doubtless, some plaice, spawn when they are 

 two years old, but only a small proportion. The mid-size in the first 

 sample is 12 in., and it is improbable that so many immature specimens 

 of this size should be three years old, i.e. (the date is October), near the 

 end of their third year. I can only suggest that we have groups 1 and 

 2 here mixed, that is, plaice nearly 2 and nearly 3 years old, as well as 

 a few which are older. 



The plaice from the Leman Shoal, and from off Lowestoft, present the 

 same problem — we have evidently the same stages, only from a larger 

 race of fish. We have the fish nearly 2 years old, those nearly 3 years, 

 and some few older. The mature specimens belong to the last two 

 groups. 



With regard to turbot and brill, we can scarcely suppose that the 

 former reaches the size of 14 in,, and the latter 12 in., in one year. 

 These are the mid-sizes of the immature females taken on the German 

 grounds in June, and are, in all probability, the 2 year old fish. The year 

 old fish, in the case of brill, probably 7 or 8 in., of turbot 9 or 10 in., 

 would be found closer to the shore. Here, again, I differ from Dr. 

 Petersen, who took large numbers of turbot, the mid-size of which was 

 9h in., in June and July, at liornholm, and considers them to be 2 years 

 old. It is true the size of the turbot may be much reduced at this island, 

 which is far within the Baltic, but, on the other hand, Petersen found 

 similar specimens, which he also takes to be 2 years old, in the most 

 northern parts of the Cattegat, and he has no specimens, except one or 

 two at 4 to 6 in., which he can assign to the year-old group. Of brill, 

 Petersen places the 2 year old size at 10 in., the year-old at 5 to 7 in., in 

 the Cattegat. 



IV. — Proposed Restrictions on the Landing of Undersized Plaice, 

 IN THE Light of the New Evidence, 



Before the Parliamentary Committee, which conducted an inquiry in 

 1893, the trawling industry of Lowestoft, as represented by Mr. J. W. 

 Hame, strongly opposed any restrictions being enforced as to the size of 

 fish landed. One of the reasons given was that restriction was un- 

 necessary, because small fish, especially plaice, were not landed at that 

 port. Mr, Hame told the Committee that the day before he gave his 



