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Director's Report. 



The paper by Mr. Garstang in the present number of the Journal 

 contains a full account of his researches, so far as they have at present 

 proceeded, on the question of the different races of the mackerel. In 

 addition to this work Mr, Garstang has been investigating the food 

 of the mackerel, for which purpose a large number of the stomachs 

 of the fish have been preserved and their contents examined. At 

 the same time the distribution in the sea of the various floating and 

 free-swimming organisms, which constitute the greater part of the 

 food of the mackerel and other migratory pelagic fishes is being 

 investigated, and an attempt is being made to correlate the movements 

 of these organisms with changes in the physical conditions of the 

 sea-water, as indicated by observations of its temperature and density. 

 The experiments with floating bottles for determining the direction 

 and rate of the surface drift are also being continued. 



At the beginning of September, Mr. Garstang attended the 

 International Fisheries Congress at Dieppe, and there submitted a 

 proposal for a joint Anglo-French investigation of the physical and 

 biological conditions of the English Channel during the year 1899. 

 This proposal met with the support of the French naturalists, and a 

 resolution was passed expressing the desirability of forming an 

 Anglo-French committee to co-operate with the Marine Biological 

 Association in the matter. At the meeting of the British Association 

 in Bristol, a grant of £100 was made towards carrying out the 

 suggested scheme of investigation, and Mr, H. N. Dickson promised 

 his assistance in carrying out the physical parts of the work, 



Mr. Holt, who during the summer continued his observations on 

 the distribution of young stages of fishes in this neighbourhood, has 

 now proceeded to the west coast of Ireland, where he is taking 

 charge of the fishery investigations, which are being resumed by 

 the Eoyal Dublin Society in that district. 



On p. 296 will be found the report on the trawling experiments in 

 the Bays on the South Coast of Devon, which were carried out at the 

 instance of the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee. These experiments 

 were commenced by Mr. Stead in 1895, and have since been continued 



