IN THE BAYS ON THE SOUTH-EAST COAST OF DEVON. 499 



(2) On attaining a length of 8 inches the plaice in Teignmouth Bay 

 and Torbay tend to emigrate — in summer into Start Bay, and in winter 

 over the offshore grounds. The special statistics appear to show that 

 about 44 per cent, of the plaice caught offshore by the Brixham "Mumble 

 Bees " are immature fish from 8 to 10 inches in length. These are 

 doubtless derived for the most part from the two bays mentioned, 

 although Sidmouth Bay and Lyme Bay probably contribute. Few of 

 these fishes, however, are derivable from Start Bay ; the marking ex- 

 periments revealed a much slighter tendency for fishes of this size to 

 emigrate from Start Bay than from the other two, 



(3) Teignmouth Bay and Torbay are thus essentially nurseries or 

 rearing grounds for the smallest plaice. They furnish the original 

 stock from which Start Bay and the offshore grounds are annually 

 recruited. 



Start Bay, on the other hand, is not a nursery for plaice. 



(4) Apart from seasonal changes in abundance caused by periodic 

 migrations, the population of fiat-fish in the bays is subject to con- 

 siderable fluctuations from one year to another. These fluctuations 

 are not traceable to the operation of the Committee's bye-laws, since 

 fluctuations in both directions (viz. of increase and of decrease) have 

 taken place at intervals during the period of closure. They appear 

 to be attributable to the effects of good and bad spawning seasons, 

 and especially to the direction of the winds during the period when 

 the eggs and larvffi of the fish are drifting in the water prior to 

 metamorphosis. 



(5) The closure of the bays to trawlers appears to be useful only 

 in so far as it protects the plaice from premature destruction. From 

 this point of view the closure of Start Bay is ineffective, since the 

 small fish are present in inappreciable numbers. Even the plaice 

 below 12 inches in length in Start Bay did not amount, in 1901-2, 

 to 30 per cent, of the total, which is considerably less than the 

 percentage landed by the fishermen from the fishing grounds in general 

 during 1902 (44 per cent.). 



On the other hand, the closure of Teignmouth Bay and Torbay must 

 be of great value for the upkeep of the fishery, since these bays furnish 

 an important, and probably the chief, source of supply of young plaice 

 for the trawling grounds in general. 



(6) The closure of the bays does not protect the spawning fish to an 

 appreciable extent, since the latter spawn mostly offshore. 



(7) The closure of Teignmouth Bay (and probably of Torbay) defers 

 the period of capture of a certain number of marketable fish, but does 

 not cause any serious deprivation to the fishermen, since the same fish 

 are available for capture after emigration from the bays when of larger 



NEW SERIES. — VOL. VI. NO. 4. 2 L 



