74 AN ACCOUNT OF THE SCIENTIFIC AVORK OF THE 



retained as ([uickly as possible, and in every case it is noted that 

 the flat fish swim away at once, evidently little the worse for being 

 dragged along with the trawl for often two or even three hours, their 

 visit to the deck of the steamer, and being swept overboard. 



Druridge Bay possesses many young dabs and plaice. Skate Koads 

 is rich in young flounders and plaice, and small turbot and brill are got 

 as well. Cambois and Blyth Bays have principally immature dabs, but 

 soles, flounders, and gurnards occur also in this category. 



It is quite evident, then, that the restriction is useful in the 

 protection it affords to valuable fish in the immature condition. But 

 there is a curious dissimilarity often in the proportions of young 

 and mature, or, let us say, saleable fish. The latter give us variable 

 returns, sometimes slightly increasing, sometimes slightly decreasing, from 

 year to year. There is no doubt at all that the in-shore trawling of the 

 first few years did make such severe inroads as to be quite apparent. 

 Allowing for seasonal variation in the numbers, there has not been 

 such a return of the mature or large fish as to justify us in saying that 

 the bye-law in that respect was tending to much good. If we now 

 compare the rough statistics we have for Alnmouth Bay in regard to 

 the immature fish with that part of the table referring to 1896, and 

 assuming that the trawl was down five times at each excursion, the 

 immature flounders would have been, say, 100. We only got three 

 saleable. The immature dabs would be, say, 150. We got about half that 

 number large enough to keep. The immature plaice would be 125, 

 which is below the number of matured forms retained, and this in a bay 

 showing an increase in the saleable plaice. I cannot speak as to the 

 immature fish in previous years ; but these figures, which could be 

 repeated for the other bays, show only too well that a large destruction 

 of fish occurs somewhere before they become mature. That this occurs 

 when they go out to spawn seems from the collateral evidence of other 

 experiments only too likely. Either this is the case or many of them 

 depart after their in-shore early life and never return. But this does 

 not explain the practical non-increase in these and other similar 

 territorial waters. These facts only add to the evidence in regard to 

 the destruction of the spawners outside the limits. 



The plaice last year varied from 12 to 16 or 17 ins. in total length 

 (one example measured 19f by 11 J ins., fins included), and were feeding 

 principally on Donax t'ninculiis,v^\\m\\ is extremely common in these bays. 

 Tellina tenuis and Venus gallina also occurred in some of the stomachs 

 examined. The dabs measured 9 to 13 ins. in length, and were feeding 

 mainly on Portunus holsatus, and sometimes old and fresh shells of 

 various mollusca were found in the stomach as well. The soles were got 

 from 12 to 20 ins., and sandeels were found most often in the stomachs. 



