22 KEPOUT ON Till': PRESENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE 



two montlis. On the soutli-west of Ireland fishing is almost suspended, 

 and the quantities caught on the south and west coasts of England and 

 on the west coast of France are very small compared with those taken 

 during May and June. 



In the eastern part of the English Channel and on the east coast, 

 where the mackerel do not arrive until the end of i\Iay, the returns 

 indicate that the fish are more numerous in July than earlier in the 

 year ; but there is a falling off in the number landed in August, which 

 is, however, more marked in the Xorth Sea than in the English Channel. 



In Norway the fishing, which commences towards the end of May, 

 and is at its height during June, continues to be good until the middle 

 of July, about which time it practically ceases. Sars * draws attention 

 to the fact that, according to Lowe (Fauna Orchadcnsis), mackerel are 

 seen in large schools near the Orkney Islands at the end of July and 

 the beginning of August, just after the Norwegian fisheries have closed. 

 These he thinks are probably shoals returning from the Norwegian coast 

 to the Atlantic. 



In the Mediterranean, at Cette, and at the majority of the ports, the 

 large fishing practically ends in June, and few mackerel are taken during 

 the remainder of the year. At Marseilles, on the other hand, the fish 

 seem to be plentiful until September. In 1896, according to the 

 official returns, the maximum was reached in July, and the quantity 

 taken in August was still large. Marion | states that the fish are 

 generally most plentiful in September. 



From the above facts, which will be seen in more detail in the tables, 

 it is obvious that as a general rule a season of scarcity exists during 

 these two months, July and August, between the great spring and 

 autumn fisheries. The reason for this scarcity is not very clear. At 

 Plymouth, at this time of the year, the mackerel seem to be scattered. 

 There are undoubtedly large numbers present in the Sound and in-shore 

 waters, where they are taken by whiffing and with tlie seine. Drift-net 

 fishing, on the other hand, is practically suspended. It is to be noted, 

 too, that during the hot weather of these two mouths mackerel are with 

 difficulty kept in good condition, and although the supply is short the 

 demand for them is not great, and prices are low. It is probable that 

 this may have something to do with the small quantity landed. 



America. — The marked falling off between the spring and autumn 

 fisheries, which is observed in Europe, does not, from the information 

 available, appear to be so great on the American coasts, if indeed it 

 exists at all. In Fundy Bay, and in tlie Gulf of St. Lawrence, at any 

 rate, the fish seem to be quite plentiful at this time of the year. 



* Report for 1875. English Translation, lieport of U.S. Fish. Com., 1877, p. 671. 

 t .^nn. Mus. Nat. Hist. Marseille Zool. AjypUquie, i. p. 84. 



