466 REPORT ON TRAWLING AND OTHER INVESTIGATIONS 



Table XIV., showing, for Torhay, (1) tlic total proportion of Dahs to 

 Plaice, and (2) the pi^oportion of Large Dahs (8 inches and upwards) 

 to Large Plaice (12 inches and upwards) in each quarter during the 

 two sets of investigations (Plaice = 100). 



Total Dabs to Plaice. Large Dabs to Large Plaice. 



With one insignificant exception the total proportion of dabs to 

 plaice was higher in each quarter of 1901-2 than during the previous 

 period, the excess being particularly marked during the spring and 

 summer of 1902. On the whole, therefore, the number of dabs does 

 not appear to have diminished in Torbay during the recent fluctuations 

 to anything like the extent which was manifest in Start Bay, or even 

 to the same degree as the plaice— a difference which is possibly attribut- 

 able to the muddy character of the bottom, which renders Torbay the 

 chief headquarters of small dabs in the district. 



TEIGNMOUTH BAY. 



The following account of the physical conditions and trawling 

 stations has been drawn up by Dr. Kyle : — 



" With regard to the physical conditions, this bay is intermediate be- 

 tween Torbay and Start Bay. There is comparatively little tidal move- 

 ment in the centre of the bay, with the result that we find there a long 

 belt of mud extending from Hope's Nose to off Exmouth. In this 

 respect it resembles Torbay. There are moderate currents alongshore, 

 however, which in the northern portion of the bay seem in the main 

 to tend northward towards Exmouth, but in the southern half towards 

 Hope's Nose. We find, consequently, that there is a long stretch of 

 sand, mostly coarse, extending from five fathoms on to the beach and 

 from Hope's Nose to the Pole Sands at Exmouth. The best trawling- 

 ground is along this belt of sand, and in the fall of the year it is quite 

 as rich as any part of Start Bay in large plaice and soles. Along the 

 line from Hope's Nose to Straight Point (the Paibicon for trawlers) lies 

 the beginning of the rough ground called the Ledge. At this point it 

 is not yet untrawlable, but the large quantity of oysters and stones 

 make it somewhat dangerous for the net. 



" This bay differs from the others in that two rivers, the Teign and 

 the Exe, flow into it. These are of importance because the young 



