12 KEI'OKT ON THE PRESENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE 



from such general information as it lias been possible to find, and the 

 table does not pretend to anything more than rough approximation to 

 accuracy. 



Table II., compiled from the English and French official statistics, 

 gives the average amount for three years of mackerel landed during 

 each year on the east, south, and west coasts of England and "Wales, 

 and at Gravelines and St. Varley-sur-Somme on the north, Douarnenez 

 on the west, and Cette on the south coasts of France. The full 

 statistics for the French coasts are only published for 1896, but the 

 ports selected may be regarded as representative. Cette and 

 Douarnenez have the largest mackerel fisheries on their respective 

 coasts. The fishery at St. Varley-sur-Somme, on the other hand, is 

 less important than that at either Boulogne or Fecamp; but the 

 statistics for this port are selected in preference, because the majority 

 of the mackerel lauded at the two other ports in the spring are 

 the products of the fishery carried on off the south-west coast of 

 Ireland. The figures for St. Varley-sur-Somme are therefore more 

 representative of the fishing on the north coast of France. Gravelines, 

 where mackerel are only landed in quantity during two months of the 

 year, represents the important autumn fishery in the North Sea. 



Table III. gives the actual quantities of mackerel landed on the 

 three coasts of England and Wales for the three years 1893, 1894, 

 and 1895, and shows the fluctuations of the fisheries from year to 

 year. 



Table IV. contains similar information for some representative 

 French ports for 1894, 1895, and 1896. - 



Table V. gives the quantities landed at the more important French 

 ports during 1896. 



With the information contained in these tables it is possible to form 

 a fairly correct idea of the distribution of the mackerel on the coasts of 

 both Europe and America during the different montlis of the year. As 

 the conditions change somewhat slowly, it will be most convenient for 

 our purpose to consider them during periods of two consecutive months. 



January and February: Buropc. — Very few mackerel are taken in 

 any locality during these months. Those which are captured are chiefly 

 found in the western part of the English Channel, off" the south-west 

 coast of Ireland,* off the west coast of France (Douarnenez), and in 

 small numbers in the Gulf of Alarseille. Those caught in the English 

 Channel are found 30 to 40 miles from the coast, some being taken at 

 this distance south of Start Point, others south of Plymouth.t There is 



* Inspector's Report, 1895. (Table, Spring Mackerel Fishery.) 

 t Joum, Mar. Biol. Assoc., vol. ii. p. 7. 



